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WILLIAMSTOWN 


AND 


WILLIAMS  COLLEGE. 


BY 


N.    H.   EGLESTON, 


WILLIAMSTOWN,  MASS. 


JUDD     &     DETWEILER,    PRINTERS, 
WASHINGTON,   D.    C. 


Copyright,  18S4,  by  N.  H.  Egleston. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 
First  Settlement  in  the  Hoosac  Valley         .  .3 

CHAPTER  II. 

Ancestry  and  Early  Life  of  Ephraim  Williams     ...  7 

CHAPTER  III. 

Colonel  Williams'  Military  Career      .         .         .  .  .  10 

CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Beginning  of  the  College    .         .         .  .  .  .  16 

CHAPTER  V. 

The  Establishment  of  the  College       .....  24 

CHAPTER  VI. 
Threatened  Removal  of  the  College  35 

CHAPTER  VII. 

The  Character  and  Administration  of  the  College 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
Past  and  Present         ........ 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Neighboring  Attractions     .......         65 

CHAPTER  X. 

Present  Character  and  Condition  of  the  College  .         .  70 


5' J 


51 


DR.    HOPKINS. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


A  considerable  portion  of  the  present  book  was  published 
in  Harpers  Monthly  Magazine  a  few  years  ago.  The  interest 
taken  in  that  publication  has  seemed  to  warrant  its  repro- 
duction in  the  present  form.  In  giving  it  this  shape,  how- 
ever, which  by  the  kind  consent  of  the  Messrs.  Harper,  he 
is  enabled  to  do,  the  author  has  taken  occasion  to  enlarge 
materially  the  original  publication,  and  thus  give  it  addi- 
tional value  as  a  trustworthy  record  of  the  growth  of  one 
of  the  most  beautiful  of  our  New  England  towns,  and  of 
one  of  its  best  seats  of  learning. 


CHAPTER   I. 

First  Settlement  in  the  Hoosac  Valley. 

Williamstown,  or  West  Hoosuck,  as  it  was  as  first  called 
from  the  river  which  gives  character  to  the  region,  was  born 
in  war  and  cradled  in  the  wilderness.  Its  early  history  is 
connected  with  the  final  struggle  of  France  and  England 
for  the  possession  of  the  American  continent.  Its  founder 
was  prominent  as  a  leader  in  one  of  those  expeditions  which 
the  English  colonists  projected,  and  which  resulted  in  the 
final  vanquishment  of  the  French  power  in  America.  But 
previous  to  those  final  and  decisive  undertakings,  the  scene 
of  his  active  labors  had  been  upon  the  border  line  of  the 
Colonial  settlements,  a  wilderness  region,  which  was  for  a 
long  time  the  theater  of  many  a  bloody  and  savage  foray. 
It  was  in  such  a  condition  of  things,  and  in  such  a  region , 
where  the  lurking  presence  of  the  Indian  was  a  source  of 
constant  dread,  that  the  foundations  of  Williamstown  were 
laid. 

The  rapidity  with  which  the  early  settlers  of  New  England 
spread  themselves  over  a  wide  reach  of  territory  is  some- 
what surprising.  Few  as  they  were,  Eastern  Massachusetts 
was  too  strait  for  them,  and  in  less  than  a  score  of  years 
they  had  pushed  through  the  intervening  wilderness  a  hun- 
dred miles,  and  established  themselves  in  the  valley  of  the 
Connecticut  at  Windsor,  Wethersfield,  Hartford,  and  Spring- 
field. Gradually  other  settlements  were  made  along  that 
attractive  valley,  from  Saybrook  as  far  as  Northfield.  "  It 
was  not  long,"  says  Cotton  Mather,  "  before  the  Massachuset 
Colony  was  become  like  a  hive  overstocked  with  bees,  and 
many  of  the  new  inhabitants  entertained  thoughts  of  swarm- 
ing into  plantations  extended  further  into  the  country. 
*  *  The  fame  of  Connecticut  River,  a  long,  fresh,  rich 
river,  had  made  a  little  Nilus  of  it,  in  the  expectation  of 

3 


4  WILLIAMSTOWN    AND    WILLIAMS    COLLEGE. 

the  good  people  about  the  Massachuset  Bay,  whereupon 
many  of  the  planters,  belonging  especially  to  the  towns  of 
Cambridge,  Dorchester,  Watertown,  and  Roxbury,  took  up 
resolutions  to  travel  an  hundred  miles  westward  from  those 
towns  for  a  further  settlement  upon  this  famous  river." 

But  it  was  nearly  a  century  before  the  westward-moving 
tide  reached  the  next  valley,  that  of  the  Housatonic  and  the 
Hoosac,  although  by  that  time  there  were  more  than  300,000 
people  within  the  settled  portions  of  Massachusetts  and  Con- 
necticut. Not  only  was  the  intervening  wilderness  a  barrier 
to  the  further  progress  of  migration  toward  the  West,  but 
there  was  a  dispute  between  the  English  and  the  Dutch  as 
to  the  boundary  between  Massachusetts  and  New  York, 
which  served  to  deter  settlers  for  a  long  time  from  ventur- 
ing to  seek  homes  in  that  direction.  A  barrier,  however,  of 
a  more  formidable  character  was  the  fear  of  the  Indians. 

The  early  relations  of  the  colonists  of  New  England  to 
the  Indians  were  those  of  peace  and  amity.  The  account 
of  them  forms  a  beautiful  chapter  in  our  colonial  history. 
But  these  amicable  relations  were  soon  disturbed.  As  ship 
after  ship  followed  the  Mayflower,  and  poured  its  living  cargo 
upon  the  soil  of  New  England,  and  the  Whites  spread  them- 
selves over  their  fairest  hunting  and  fishing  grounds,  the 
Indians  naturally  became  jealous  of  those  who  seemed  to 
be  crowrding  them  from  their  homes.  Their  lands,  though 
they  had  been  parted  with  voluntarily,  and  at  a  price  satis- 
factory to  them  at  the  time,  were  yet  parted  with.  They 
saw  themselves  dispossessed  forever.  Nor  wras  it  pleasant 
for  them  to  see  the  threatened  predominance  of  another 
race,  where  they  had  been  so  long  the  undisputed  lords  of 
the  soil.  It  was  an  easy  thing  for  the  natural  feeling  of 
jealousy  to  be  converted  into  suspicion,  and  then  into  hate. 
And  this  was  made  the  easier  by  the  incitements  furnished 
by  the  French  colonists  of  Canada.  From  the  time  of  the 
first  settlements  almost,  there  had  been  a  strife  between  Eng- 
land and  France  for  the  possession  of  the  new  continent. 
As  the  colonies  grew  in  population  and  strength,  they  shared 


WTLLLA.MSTOWN    A.ND    WILLIAMS   COLLEGE.  5 

to  a  large  extent  the  feelings  of  the  parent  countries.  Tak- 
ing advantage  of  the  disturbed  feeling  of  the  Indians  to- 
ward the  English,  the  French  entered  into  alliance  with 
them,  and  stimulated  them  to  open  hostility. 

There  were  two  natural  routes  of  approach  to  the  English 
settlements  from  the  direction  of  Canada.  One  was  by  the 
Connecticut  River ;  the  other  was  down  Lake  Champlain 
and  the  Hudson,  until  the  valley  of  the  Hoosac  was  reached, 
twenty  miles  above  Albany,  then  eastward  along  this  valley 
and  that  of  the  Deertield,  which  tends  in  the  same  direction. 
By  either  of  these  routes  it  was  comparatively  easy  for  the 
French  and  Indians  to  make  descents  upon  the  colonies  and 
harass  them.  This  they  did  through  a  long  series  of  years. 
For  nearly  a  century  life  on  the  borders  of  the  English 
settlements  was  one  of  almost  constant  fear.  The  stories  of 
sudden  attack,  of  the  burning  of  dwellings  and  of  whole 
villages,  of  death  by  the  tomahawk,  of  death  on  the  march 
through  pathless  woods  in  winter,  as  the  victims  of  these 
assaults  were  taken  into  captivity,  form  a  large  portion  of  our 
early  history. 

On  the  breaking  out  of  war  afresh  between  England  and 
France  in  1744,  Massachusetts  felt  obliged  to  take  additional 
measures  for  the  defense  of  her  exposed  northern  and  west- 
ern borders. 

"  At  the  declaration  of  war,"  says  General  Hoyt,  "  many 
Indians  who  had  been  active  in  the  former  wTar  resided 
about  the  frontiers  on  the  Connecticut,  as  well  as  at  the  fish- 
ing stations  on  that  river.  By  a  friendly  intercourse  many 
had  become  known  to  the  English  settlers,  and  a  kind  of 
attachment  had  been  created,  which  it  was  hoped  would 
operate  as  a  check  to  their  ferocity  in  a  future  war.  But 
their  ardor  for  plunder  and  carnage  overcame  their  apparent 
feelings  of  amity  ;  and  finding  an  opportunity  now  pre- 
sented for  gratifying  their  inclinations,  they  suddenly  left 
their  stations  and  repaired  to  Canada  to  join  the  hostile 
tribes  in  that  quarter.  *  *  Perfectly  acquainted  with  the 
topography  of  the  country  on  the  frontiers  of  the  colonies, 
they  wrere  employed  during  the  war  not  only  on  predatory 


6  WTLLIAMSTOWN   AND   WILLIAMS   COLLEGE. 

incursions  of  their  own,  but  as  guides  to  more  distant  In- 
dians." * 

Accordingly,  a  new  line  of  forts  and  block-houses  was 
built  from  Fort  Dummer,  on  the  Connecticut,  near  the 
boundary  of  New  Hampshire,  to  the  western  border  of  Mas- 
sachusetts. Among  these  were  Fort  Shirley,  in  Heath, 
named  from  the  distinguished  Governor  Shirley ;  Fort  Pel- 
ham,  in  Rowe,  and  Fort  Massachusetts.  There  were  also 
block-houses  in  Bornardston  and  Coleraine,  and  small  works 
at  Pontoosuc,  now  Pittsfield,  as  well  as  at  Stockbridge  and 
Sheffield.  Fort  Massachusetts,  the  westernmost  of  these  forts, 
and  the  strongest,  as  from  its  more  exposed  position  it  needed 
to  be,  was  erected  in  the  valley  of  the  Hoosac,  near  where 
that  stream  breaks  through  the  lofty  mountain  barrier 
which  separates  Massachusetts  and  Vermont  from  New  York. 

Through  this  gateway  which  nature  had  provided,  the 
French  and  their  Indian  allies,  if  unopposed,  could  make 
their  way,  as  they  had  done,  to  the  important  towns  of  Deer- 
field,  Hadley,  Northampton,  and  Westfield  on  the  east,  or  go 
southward  through  the  valleys  of  Berkshire,  lately  begun  to 
be  settled,  and  threaten  all  that  region,  and  Connecticut 
beyond. 

The  superintendence  of  the  erection  and  the  command  of 
the  new  line  of  forts  were  intrusted  to  Captain  Ephraim 
Williams,  his  headquarters  being  at  the  one  farthest  west, 
which  was  named  Fort  Massachusetts.  This  fort  was  located 
in  a  beautiful  meadow  in  the  valley  of  the  Hoosac,  which  is 
here  narrowed  to  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  width  by  the  tower- 
ing mass  of  Saddleback  or  Graylock  on  the  south,  and  the 
Clarksburg  and  Stamford  mountains  on  the  north. 

The  fort  was  built  of  logs,  and  surrounded  with  an  in- 
closure  of  pickets  nearly  a  hundred  rods  in  extent,  made  of 
squared  posts  driven  into  the  ground  so  as  to  make  an  im- 
pervious barrier.  It  was  mounted  with  a  few  swivels  at  the 
best,  had  a  garrison  seldom  numbering  a  hundred  men,  and 
was  defensible  against  musketry  alone. 

*  Hoyt's  Indian  Wars.     Hon.  Joseph  White  ;   Alumni  Address. 


CHAPTER   II. 

Ancestry  and  Early  Life  of  Williams. 

Ephraim  Williams  was  a  descendant,  in  the  third  gener- 
ation, from  the  Puritan,  Robert  Williams,  who  is  supposed 
to  have  removed  from  Norwich,  in  England,  and  settled  in 
Roxbury,  Mass.  He  died,  at  an  advanced  age,  in  1693.  He 
left  three  sons,  Samuel,  Isaac,  and  Stephen. 

Captain  Isaac  Williams,  the  second  son,  was  born  in  1638, 
and  removed,  while  yet  a  young  man,  to  Cambridge  village, 
which  afterwards  became  the  town  of  Newton.  He  was 
chosen  a  deacon  of  the  church  in  that  town>  when  it  was 
first  constituted,  in  1664.  He  died  in  1707,  leaving  his 
homestead  and  the  larger  part  of  his  property  to  his  youngest 
son,  Ephraim  Williams,  the  father  of  the  founder  of  the  col- 
lege. 

Colonel  Ephraim  Williams,  senior,  was  born  at  Newton, 
October  21,  1691.  He  married  Elizabeth  Jackson,  the 
daughter  of  Abraham  Jackson,  only  son  of  John  Jackson, 
who  was  the  first  settler  of  Newton. 

Ephraim,  their  eldest  son,  the  Captain  Williams  of  Fort 
Massachusetts,  and  afterwards  Colonel  Williams,  founder  of 
the  college  which  bears  his  name,  was  born  at  Newton,  Feb- 
ruary 24th,  1715.  Soon  after  the  birth  of  a  second  son, 
February,  1718,  his  mother  died.  The  two  sons,  Ephraim 
and  Thomas,  were  at  once  taken  by  their  grandfather, 
Abraham  Jackson,  to  his  own  home.  He  adopted  them  as 
his  children,  and  gave  them  a  good  education.  At  his 
death,  in  1740,  he  left  them  two  hundred  pounds,  saying 
that  "  he  had  already  spent  considerable  sums  for  their 
bringing  up  and  education." 

Abraham  Jackson  was  a  man  of  the  Puritan  stamp,  dis- 
tinguished for  his  intelligence,  integrity,  and  public  spirit. 
He  was  a  most  useful  citizen  and  an  honorable  man.     He 


8  WILLIAMSTOWN    AND    WILLIAMS   COLLEGE. 

was  one  of  the  first  school  committee  of  Newton.  The  rec- 
ords of  the  town  bear  an  interesting  proof  of  his  liberality, 
setting  forth  that  on  the  14th  of  May,  1701,  he  gave  one 
acre  of  land  "  for  the  setting  the  school-house  upon,  and 
the  enlarging  the  burying-place,  and  the  convenience  of  the 
training-place."  "  It  is  quite  apparent,"  says  one  historian, 
"  that  the  first  sprouts  of  Williams  College  were  germinated 
in  the  family  of  Abraham  Jackson,  the  son  of  the  first  set- 
tler of  Newton."  However  that  may  be,  Abraham  Jackson 
is  closely  connected  with  the  college  through  the  liberality 
of  Nathan  Jackson,  his  great-grandson,  to  whom  it  is  in- 
debted for  the  building  occupied  by  the  Lyceum  of  Natural 
History,  and  for  the  house  and  grounds  occupied  by  the 
president. 

As  he  approached  the  age  of  manhood,  young  Williams 
found  scope  for  his  enterprise  and  love  of  adventure  upon 
the  ocean.  He  made  several  vo^yages  across  the  Atlantic, 
visiting  England,  Spain,  and  Holland.  In  these  voyages, 
and  in  his  intercourse  with  people  of  the  old  world,  he  be- 
came accomplished  in  manners,  and  acquired  a  knowledge 
of  character  and  a  fund  of  information  which  well  prepared 
him  for  the  distinguished  career  of  his  later  life.  He  con- 
tinued his  life  of  travel  until  about  the  age  of  twenty-five. 

Nearly  at  this  period  of  his  life  his  father  had  removed, 
with  his  family,  to  Stockbridge,  then  an  Indian  town.  The 
provincial  government,  for  the  purpose  of  civilizing  and 
christianizing  the  Indians  whose  home  was  along  the  valley 
of  the  Housatonic,  had  removed  the  white  settlers  from  a 
portion  of  the  territory  nearly  six  miles  square,  and  had 
appropriated  it  to  the  exclusive  possession  of  the  Indians, 
reserving  only  a  small  portion  for  the  use  and  subsistance 
of  the  missionary,  Rev.  John  Sargeant,  and  four  families  of 
whites  of  the  best  character,  who  were  sent  to  aid  the  mis- 
sionary and  to  benefit  the  Indians  by  their  example  and 
instruction.  One  of  the  four  families  selected  for  this  work 
was  that  of  the  father  of  Col.  Williams.  At  the  earnest  so- 
licitation of  his  father,  the  son  now  relinquished  his  sea- 


WILLIAMSTOWN    AND    WILLIAMS    COLLEGE.  9 

faring  life  and  settled  at  Stockbridge.  He  soon  became 
prominent  and  influential  in  the  little  settlement,  and  was 
frequently  its  representative  and  agent  at  the  General  Court. 
He  was  thus  engaged,  when,  on  the  outbreak  of  the  war  be- 
tween Great  Britain  and  Franco,  his  well-known  character 
for  enterprise  and  sagacity  caused  the  Provincial  Govern- 
ment to  entrust  him,  at  the  early  age  of  thirty  years,  with 
the  erection  and  command  of  the  line  of  frontier  forts,  of 
which  we  have  already  spoken.* 

*  Durfee's  History  of  Williams  College.     Genealogy  of  the  Williams  Family. 


CHAPTER   III. 

Williams'  Military  Career. 

The  trust  thus  committed  to  Captain  Williams  he  dis- 
charged with  utmost  fidelity  and  complete  success.  Bold, 
active,  and  vigilant,  he  shared  with  his  men  the  privations 
and  dangers  of  the  service,  and  exerted  his  best  powers  in 
the  public  defense.  Under  his  vigorous  management 
scouts,  accompanied  by  dogs  trained  for  scenting  the  sav- 
ages, were  kept  passing  and  repassing  continually  alongthe 
line  of  forts  in  order  to  give  prompt  notice  of  the  approach 
of  any  foe.  It  was  a  hazardous  service  which  they  had  to 
perform,  and  as  an  inducement  to  engage  in  it,  the  Provin- 
cial Government  offered  a  bounty  of  £30  for  every  Indian 
scalp. 

In  the  spring  of  1746,  Williams,  leaving  Fort  Massachu- 
setts in  charge  of  another,  enlisted  a  company  and  joined 
the  forces  which  had  assembled  at  Albany  for  the  purpose 
of  invading  Canada  by  the  way  of  Lake  Champlain.  The 
invasion,  however,  was  abandoned,  the  troops  being  with- 
drawn for  the  defense  of  Boston,  and  Williams  returned  to 
his  frontier  command.  During  his  absence  a  successful  as- 
sault upon  the  fort  was  made  by  a  combined  force  of  French 
and  Indians,  nearly  one  thousand  strong,  under  the  com- 
mand of  General  Vaudreuil. 

The  fort  was  in  charge  of  Sergeant,  afterwards  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  John  Hawks.  He  had  just  sent  off  thirteen  men,  un- 
der the  surgeon,  Dr.  Thomas  Williams,  to  Deerfield,  on  the 
Connecticut  River,  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  ammunition 
and  supplies.  Their  departure  left  only  twenty-two  effective 
men  in  the  garrison.  But,  notwithstanding  the  great  dis- 
parity of  his  force,  the  brave  commander  resolved  to  defend 
his  post  to  the  last  extremity.  For  twenty-eight  hours,  with 
small  arms  only,  he  held  the  enemy  at  bay,  and  by  means 


WILLIAMSTOWN    AND    WILLIAMS   COLLEGE.  11 

of  his  sharp-shooters  inflicted  severe  losses  upon  them.  At 
Length,  his  ammunition  being  nearly  exhausted,  he  reluct- 
antly capitulated,  and  upon  very  favorable  terms.  The  arti- 
cles of  capitulation,  however,  were  violated  the  next  day  by 
the  French  general.  Half  the  captives  wore  handed  over  to 
the  charge  of  the  angry  Indians,  who,  nevertheless,  treated 
them  more  kindly  than  usual,  perhaps  touched  by  the 
bravery  they  had  displayed.  The  garrison  wore  taken  to 
Crown  Point,  and  from  there  to  Canada,  and  thence  re- 
deemed.* 

The  fort  was  destroyed,  but  was  rebuilt  the  following 
year,  and  its  defense  was  gallantly  maintained,  though  it 
continued  to  be  the  object  of  frequent  attacks,  until  the 
treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  brought  a  cessation  of  hostilities. 
During  one  of  these  attacks  Williams  himself  narrowly  es- 
caped capture. 

( )n  the  2d  of  August,  1748,  four  men,  being  at  some  dis- 
tance from  the  fort,  were  fired  upon.  Captain  Williams 
went  to  their  rescue  with  a  company  of  thirty  men.  After 
driving  the  enemy  about  forty  rods,  he  was  suddenly  at- 
tacked by  a  body  of  fifty  Indians  in  ambuscade,  who  en- 
deavored to  cut  off  his  retreat.  By  a  quick  movement, 
however,  he  regained  the  fort  with  the  loss  of  only  one  man, 
with  two  wounded.  Immediately  a  company  of  three  hun- 
dred Indians  and  thirty  French  advanced  and  opened  fire 
upon  the  fort.  After  continuing  their  attack  for  twro  hours 
without  success,  they  retired  with  their  killed  and  wounded. 

The  peace  which  followed  the  treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle 
released  Williams  awhile  from  his  military  duties,  and  in 
1749  he  took  up  his  residence  in  the  Connecticut  valley, 
making  his  home  at  Hatfield,  and  a  portion  of  the  time 
with  his  brother  Thomas,  at  Deerfield.  His  able  and  suc- 
cessful management  of  the  border  defenses  had  gained  him 
great  reputation.  This,  with  his  unusual  dignity  of  person 
and  accomplished  manners,  gave  him  ready  admission  to 

*Hoyt :  Indian  Wars. 


12  WTLLIAMSTOWN    AND    WILLIAMS   COLLEGE. 

the  highest  and  most  influential  circles,  and  brought  him 
into  intimate  relations  with  the  leading  men  of  the  western 
portion  of  the  commonwealth,  such  men  as  John  Worth- 
ington,  of  Springfield ;  Joseph  Hawley,  of  Northampton; 
Oliver  Partridge  and  Israel  Williams,  of  Hatfield,  and  Jon- 
athan Ashley,  of  Deerfield ;  men  who  had  no  superiors  in 
the  Province.  A  brilliant  political  career  was  now  appar- 
ently opening  before  him.  But  a  change  in  the  course  of 
public  affairs  soon  brought  a  change  in  his  prospects  and 
remanded  him  to  military  life. 

At  the  breaking  ont  of  war  again  in  the  continued  struggle 
of  the  French  and  English  for  the  supremacy,  the  danger 
of  invasion  through  the  gateway  of  the  Hoosac  was  greater 
than  before.  When,  therefore,  news  came  that  the  Indians 
had  made  an  attack  upon  Dutch  Hoosac — a  settlement  within 
the  jurisdiction  of  New  York,  but  only  ten  miles  from  Fort 
Massachusetts — and  that  a  small  party  had  even  penetrated 
the  colony,  and  gone  as  far  south  as  Stockbridge,  spreading 
great  alarm  along  their  course,  the  colonial  government  saw 
at  once  the  necessity  of  taking  prompt  measures  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  settlers.  The  forts  on  the  frontier  were  im- 
mediately strengthened,  and  some  new  ones  built. 

Williams,  who  had  successfully  defended  the  frontier  dur- 
ing the  previous  hostilities,  was  again  put  in  charge,  with 
the  rank  of  major.  The  next  year,  however,  he  wras  relieved 
of  his  command  at  the  fort,  and  placed  at  the  head  o,f  the 
Hampshire  Regiment — part  of  a  force  of  five  thousand  men 
raised  by  the  colonies  for  the  purpose  of  taking  the  offensive 
against  the  French,  and  capturing  Crown  Point,  one  of  the 
most  important  fortresses  held  by  them.  The  attack  upon 
Crown  Point  was  part  of  a  comprehensive  plan  to  make  a 
vigorous  assault  upon  the  French  at  different  points.  It 
embraced  simultaneous  expeditions  to  Louisburg,  Quebec, 
Crown  Point,  Niagara,  and  Fort  du  Quesne. 

The  expedition  to  Crown  Point  was  put  in  charge  of  Colonel 
Johnson.  While  encamped  at  the  southern  extremity  of 
Lake  George,  waiting  for  ammunition  and  transports,  Baron 


WTLLIAMSTOWN    A.ND    WILLIAMS   COLLEGE.  .        L3 

Dieskau,  with  a  large  force  of  French,  Canadians,  and  In- 
dians,arrived  in  that  vicinity,  with  the  purpose  of  attacking 
Fort  Edward,  a  garrison  near  by.  Johnson,  learning  of  the 
presence  of  Dieskau's  force,  at  once  sent  out  a  party  of  one 
thousand  soldiers  and  two  hundred  Indians  to  intercept  the 
enemy.  Colonel  Williams  was  appointed  to  the  command. 
He  had  proceeded  but  a  little  way  on  his  march,  however, 
when  he  found  himself  almost  surrounded  by  the  French 
and  Indians,  who  had  left  Fort  Edward  on  one  side  and 
were  advancing  upon  Johnson's  army,  and  now  were  lying 
in  ambush  awaiting  his  approach,  of  which  they  had  doubt- 
less been  informed  by  their  scouts.  It  was  a  wild  wooded 
region,  and  Williams',  path  was  through  a  dee})  glen.  All 
at  onee  the  yells  of  the  savages  and  volleys  of  musketry  broke 
upon  his  ear,  and  revealed  his  danger,  while  the  sudden 
surprise  threw  his  men  into  confusion.  Calm  and  undaunted 
himself,  Williams  endeavored  to  get  his  force  out  of  the  glen, 
upon  the  higher  ground,  where  they  would  be  less  exposed, 
and  could  contend  with  the  enemy  upon  equal  terms.  As 
he  was  doing  this,  standing  upon  a  rock,  or  by  the  side  of 
it,  he  fell,  pierced  through  the  head  by  a  musket-ball. 

At  his  fall  Williams  was  saved  from  the  indignity  of  the 
scalping-knife  of  his  Indian  foes  by  the  considerate  devotion 
of  his  comrades  in  arms,  who  succeeded  in  concealing  his 
body  from  the  savages.  It  was  subsequently  buried  on  a 
height  of  ground  a  few  rods  from  the  spot  where  he  fell,  at 
the  foot  of  a  huge  pine-tree  near  the  road.  There  it  lay  un- 
marked by  any  other  monument  for  nearly  a  century  from 
the  time  of  his  death.  Then,  moved  by  the  consideration 
of  his  great  worth  and  his  great  benefactions  to  the  country 
and  to  the  cause  of  learning,  the  loving  hands  of  the  Alumni 
of  the  college  which  bears  his  name  placed  a  large  pyramidal 
bowlder  upon  the  grave  of  Williams,  inscribed  with  the  in- 
itials E.  W.,  and  erected  also  upon  the  rock  which  marks 
the  spot  where  he  fell,  an  enduring  monument  of  marble. 

Thus  fell  in  the  service  of  his  country,  at  the  early  age  of 
forty  years,  ona  who  had  already  attained  great  distinction, 


1  I  WTLLIAMSTOWN    AND    WILLIAMS    COLLEGE. 

and  was  looked  upon  as  a  leader  in  public  affairs,  and  who, 
had  his  life  been  prolonged,  might  have  risen  to  the  high- 
est positions.  He  was  contemporary  with  those  who  after- 
wards shone  so  brilliantly  in  the  Revolutionary  War.  Put- 
nam was  in  service  with  him  in  the  expedition  to  Crown 
Point.  Washington  was  at  the  same  time  proving  his 
capacity  in  the  expedition  against  Fort  Duquesne  under 
General  Braddock.  It  was  only  twenty  years  to  the  time 
when  Washington  was  leading  our  armies  in  the  struggle  of 
the  colonies  for  their  independence.  Had  the  life  of  Will- 
iams been  spared  till  then,  we  may  well  believe  that  he 
would  have  been  one  of  Washington's  ablest  and  most 
trusted  generals  in  that  contest,  and  stood  second  only  to 
him  in  the  regard  and  affection  of  the  people  for  his  mili- 
tary ability  and  devoted  patriotism. 


WILLIAMSTOWN    AND    WILLIAMS    COLLEGE. 


15 


COLONEL   WILLIAMS'    MONUMENT,   NEAR    LAKE   GEORGE. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

The  Beginning  of  the  College. 

But  the  history  of  Fort  Massachusetts  is  not  yet  fully  told, 
and  we  must  turn  back  to  it,  Its  builder  and  commander 
had  fallen,  but  no  serious  attack  was  made  upon  it  subse- 
quent to  his  death.  A  lasting  peace  came  in  three  years 
from  the  battle  near  Fort  Edward.  The  French  colonies  on 
the  north  were  surrendered  to  Great  Britain.  There  was  no 
more  fear  of  invasions  from  Canada.  The  frontier  line  of 
forts  no  longer  needed  to  be  garrisoned  for  the  protection  of 
defenseless  settlers.  The  soldiers  could  be  dismissed  to  the 
peaceful  industries  of  life,  and  the  forts  themselves  be  left 
to  fade  from  sight,  as  they  have  done,  under  the  slow  decay 
of  time.  There  is  nothing  now  to  mark  the  site  of  the  old 
fort  except  an  elm  tree,  which  a  few  persons  interested  in 
the  history  of  the  fort  planted,  not  many  years  ago,  for  the 
purpose  of  marking  a  spot  memorable  for  gallant  deeds 
there  wrought,  and  for  its  important  connection  with  the 
history  of  our  country. 

At  the  close  of  the  previous  war,  in  1748,  Williams  had 
retired  from  his  frontier  post,  as  we  have  seen,  and  made  his 
home  at  Hatfield,  and  with  a  brother  at  Deerfield.  But  his 
long  service  on  the  border  and  in  command  of  the  fort  had 
given  him  a  deep  interest  in  that  region,  and  in  the  soldiers 
and  settlers  with  whom  he  had  been  associated  in  time  of 
peril.  The  year  after  leaving  the  fort,  and  mainly  at  his 
instigation,  it  seems,  the  General  Court  appointed  a  com- 
mittee, consisting  of  Colonels  Dwight  and  Choate  and  Oliver 
Partridge,  Esq.,  "  to  survey  and  lay  out  two  townships  on 
the  Hoosac  River,  each  of  the  contents  of  six  miles  square, 
in  the  best  of  the  land,  and  in  as  regular  form  as  may  be, 
joining  them  together;  and  return  a  correct  plat  of  said 

16 


WILLIAMSTOWN   AND   WILLIAMS   COLLEGE.  17 

townships;  and  also  to  return  the  course  and  distance  of 
said  towns  from  Fort  Massachusetts." 

Williams  remained  at  Boston  during  the  session  of  1749- 
'50,  urging  forward  the  settlement  of  the  new  townships. 
As  the  result,  on  the  17th  of  January,  1750,  a  committee  was 
ordered  to  lay  out  the  west  township  of  Hoosac  into  sixty- 
three  contiguous  home-lots  of  from  thirteen  to  fourteen 
acres,  each  of  these  home-lots  carrying  with  it  a  sixty-third 
part  of  the  whole  township.  True  to  the  original  custom 
of  the  New  England  colonics,  one  of  these  lots  was  reserved 
for  the  first  settled  minister  of  the  new  town,  and  another  as 
a  permanent  fund  for  the  support  of  the  ministry.  A  third 
lot  was  set  apart  for  the  benefit  of  schools.  The  committee 
were  also  directed  to  dispose  of  the  remaining  sixty  lots  to 
actual  settlers  for  £G  lGs.  Od.  each,  and  "to  grant  as  many 
lots  to  the  soldiers  of  the  garrison  of  Fort  Massachusetts  as 
they  should  think  proper."  A  grant  of  one  hundred  and 
ninety  acres  in  the  east  township  was  also  made  by  the  Gene- 
ral Court  to  Williams  himself,  on  condition  that  "  he  erect 
and  finish  for  service,  within  two  years,  a  good  grist-mill 
and  saw-mill  on  the  north  branch  of  the  Hoosac  River,  and 
keep  the  same  in  good  repair  for  twenty  years,"  by  which  he 
became  the  owner  of  the  very  meadow  in  which  Fort  Massa- 
chusetts stood. 

When  the  west  township  was  actually  laid  out,  more  than 
half  of  the  lots  were  taken  by  the  officers  and  soldiers  of  the 
old  fort.  Williams,  among  the  rest,  drew  two  lots,  though 
these  chanced  to  be  of  poor  quality.  The  settlement  of  both 
townships,  under  the  protection  of  the  fort  and  one  or  two 
block-houses,  went  on  rapidly. 

On  his  way  from  Deerfield  to  engage  in  the  expedition 
against  Crown  Point,  Colonel  Williams  was  once  more  at 
Fort  Massachusetts,  and  there  met  again  many  of  his  old 
comrades,  several  of  whom  had  become  settlers  in  the  new 
township  which  he  had  secured  for  them  four  or  five  years 
before.  Some  of  these  old  companions  in  arms  put  them- 
selves again  under  his  leadership  on  the  march  to  Crown 
3 


18  WILLIAMSTOWN    AND   WILLIAMS   COLLEGE. 

Point.  Williams  seems  to  have  had  some  foreboding  that 
he  was  not  to  return  from  this  expedition,  but  was  looking 
upon  the  old  fort  and  the  fair  fields  of  the  Hoosac  around 
it  for  the  last  time.  It  is  said  that  as  he  parted  from  the 
garrison  he  gave  some  intimation  that,  in  the  event  of  his 
death,  he  should  leave  them  some  further  evidence  of  his 
esteem.  Being  taken  ill  as  his  regiment  halted  for  a  little 
at  Albany,  he  was  reminded  of  the  uncertainty  of  life,  and 
that  the  purpose  entertained  for  some  time  past  of  making 
a  final  disposition  of  his  property  had  not  been  carried  out. 
He  proceeded,  therefore,  at  once  to  make  his  will.  In  this 
instrument,  after  making  some  minor  bequests  to  relatives 
and  friends,  he  declares:  "  It  is  my  will  and  pleasure  that 
all  of  the  residue  of  my  real  estate,  not  otherwise  dispose  1 
of,  be  sold  by  my  executors,  or  the  survivor  of  them,  within 
five  years  after  an  established  peace  (which  a  good  God  soon 
grant!),  according  to  their  discretion,  and  that  the  same  be 
put  out  at  interest  on  good  security,  and  that  the  interest 
money  yearly  arising  therefrom,  and  the  interest  arising 
from  my  just  debts  due  to  me,  and  not  otherwise  disposed 
of,  be  improved  by  said  executors,  and  by  such  as  they  shall 
appoint  trustees  for  the  charity  aforesaid  after  them,  for  the 
support  and  maintenance  of  a  free  school  in  the  township 
west  of  Fort  Massachusetts  (commonly  called  West  Township) 
forever,  provided  said  township  fall  within  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  and  continue  under 
that  jurisdiction,  and  provided  also  the  Governor  of  said 
province,  with  the  Assembly  of  said  province,  shall  (when 
a  suitable  number  of  inhabitants  are  settled  there)  incor- 
porate the  same  into  a  town  by  the  name  of  Williamstown." 

The  will  then  goes  on  to  make  other  dispositions  of  the 
property  if  these  conditions  are  not  complied  with. 

The  will  is  dated  July  22, 1755.  Williams  fell  on  the  8th 
of  the  following  September. 

Such  was  the  beginning  of  the  College,  or  the  Free  School 
as  it  was  originally.  Looking  back  upon  the  act  of  Colonel 
Williams  in  making  such  a  disposition  of  his  property  as 


WILI.IAMSTOWN    AND    WILLIAMS   COLLEGE.  V.) 

he  did,  an  eminent  alumnus  of  the  college  thus  writes:  "As 
Williams  himself  sat  in  his  sick-chamber  at  Albany,  and 
laid  aside  the  pen  with  which  he  had  made  sure  his  last  act 
of  good  will  to  his  old  neighbors  and  friends  in  the  Hoosac 
valley,  and  contemplated  its  beneficent  results  in  the  higher 
intelligence  and  well-being  of  their  posterity  in  the  future, 
conld  the  veil  have  been  lifted,  and  his  eye  have  run  down 
tin-  line  of  the  coming  years  till  it  rested  on  these  times, 
and  marked  the  results  as  they  now  stand  revealed  to  us; 
could  he  have  seen  the  little  hamlet  of  eleven  settlers  give 
place  to  the  populous  village,  and  the  broad  cultivated  town, 
and  the  frontier  which  he  had  defended  so  well  stretching 
onwards  to  the  lakes,  across  the  western  valley  to  the  Pa- 
cific shore ;  could  he  have  beheld  the  free  school  expanding 
into  the  college,  and  bestowing  a  liberal  culture  upon  sixty- 
five  generations  of  generous  youth,  sending  them  forth 
each  successive  year  equipped  to  do  the  work  of  men 

'  In  the  world's  broad  field  of  battle,' — 

could  he  have  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  maple  grove  and 
the  haystack  beside  it,  and  the  uplifted  hands  of  those 
youthful  heroes  of  a  new  crusade,  pleading  for  a  fresh  baptism 
upon  the  churches,  and  have  seen  the  swift  messengers  of 
peace  running  to  all  lands  and  publishing  salvation,  and 
the  darkness  lifting,  and  the  day  breaking,  and  heard  the 
morning  song,  would  he  not  also,  with  a  full  heart,  have 
exclaimed : 

"  It  is  well !  The  ways  of  God  are  justified.  I  see  there 
is  a  higher  prize  !  I  see  there  is  a  brighter  glory !  It  is 
well.  Though  my  sun  go  down  at  noon ;  though  I  fall  in 
the  first  shock  of  battle,  and  others  lead  on  to  victory  and 
win  the  soldier's  prize ;  though  my  poor  body  sleep  long 
years  in  the  deep  woods,  and  no  kindly  tear  fall,  and  no 
friendly  foot  press  the  spot,  yet  I  shall  not  be  forgotten.  The 
men  of  other  ages  and  far-off  lands  shall  repeat  my  name 
with  a  blessing  ;  it  shall  live  with  Mills  on  the  ocean,  with 
Hall  on  the '  burning  strand ;'  the  monumental  marble  shall 


20  WILLIAMSTOWN    AND    WILLIAMS    COLLEGE. 

speak  it,  and  the  sweet  valley  which  I  love,  and  the  ever- 
lasting mountains  around,  shall  guard  and  preserve  it  for- 
ever !  "* 

In  an  address  delivered  before  the  Adelphic  Union  So- 
ciety of  the  college,  in  1837,  the  distinguished  scholar  and 
orator,  Edward  Everett,  in  his  own  way  thus  personifies 
Colonel  Williams  in  that  early  day : 

"  My  friends,  (we  may  conceive  he  would  say  to  a  group 
of  settlers  gathered  around  old  Fort  Massachusetts,  on  some 
fit  occasion,  not  long  before  his  marching  towards  the  place 
of  rendezvous,) — my  friends,  your  hardships  I  am  aware 
are  great.  I  have  witnessed,  I  have  shared  them.  The 
hardships  incident  to  the  opening  a  new  country  are  always 
severe.  They  are  heightened  in  our  case  by  the  constant 
danger  in  which  we  live  from  the  savage  enemy.  At  present 
we  are  rather  encamped  than  settled.  We  live  in  block- 
houses ;  we  lie  upon  our  arms  by  night,  and,  like  the  Jews 
who  returned  to  build  Jerusalem,  we  go  to  work  by  day 
with  implements  of  industry  in  one  hand,  and  the  weapons 
of  war  in  the  other.  Nor  is  this  the  worst.  We  have  been 
bred  up  in  the  populous  settlement  on  the  coast,  where  the 
school-house  and  the  church  are  found  at  the  center  of  every 
village.  Here,  as  yet,  we  can  have  neither.  I  know  these 
things  weigh  upon  you.  You  look  on  the  dark  and  im- 
penetrable forests  in  which  you  have  made  an  opening,  and 
contrast  it  with  the  pleasant  villages  where  you  were  born 
and  passed  your  early  years — where  your  parents  are  yet 
living,  or  where  they  have  gone  to  their  rest,  and  you  can- 
not suppress  a  painful  emotion.  You  are  more  especially, 
as  I  perceive,  somewhat  disheartened  at  the  present  moment 
of  impending  war.  But,  my  friends,  let  not  your  spirits 
sink.  The  prospect  is  overcast,  but  brighter  days  will  come. 
In  vision  I  can  plainly  foresee  them.  The  forest  disappears; 
the  cornfield,  the  pasture,  takes  its  place.  The  hill-sides  are 
spotted  with  flocks ;  the  music  of  the  water-wheel  sounds  in 


*  Alumni  address  of  Hon.  Joseph  White,  1855. 


WILLIAMSTOWN    AND    WILLIAMS   COLLEGE.  21 

accord  with  the  dashing  stream.  Your  little  groups  oi  log- 
cabins  swell  into  prosperous  villages.  Schools  and  churches, 
spring  up  in  the  waste;  institutions  for  learning  arise ;  and 
in  what  is  now  a  wide  solitude,  libraries  and  cabinets  un- 
told their  treasures,  and  observatories  point  their  tubes  to 
the  heavens.  I  tell  you  that  not  all  the  united  powers  of 
all  the  French  and  Indians  on  the  St.  Lawrence — no,  not  if 
backed  by  nil  the  powers  of  darkness,  which  seem  at  times 
in  league  with  them,  to  infest  this  howling  wilderness — will 
long  prevent  the  valleys  of  the  iloosac  and  the  Housatonie 
from  becoming  the  abode  of  industry,  abundance,  and  re- 
finement, A  century  will  not  pass  before  the  voice  of  do- 
mestic wisdom,  and  fireside  inspiration  from  the  vales  of 
Berkshire,  will  be  heard  throughout  America  and  Europe. 
As  for  the  contest  impending,  I  am  sure  we  shall  conquer ; 
if  I  mistake  not,  it  is  the  first  of  a  series  of  events  of  unut- 
terable moment  to  all  America,  and  even  to  mankind.  Be- 
fore it  closes,  the  banner  of  St.  George  will  float,  I  am  sure, 
over  Diamond  Rock  ;  and  the  extension  of  British  power 
over  the  whole  continent  will  be  but  the  first  act  of  a  great 
drama  whose  catastrophe  I  but  dimly  foresee. 

"  I  speak  of  what  concerns  the  whole  country  ;  the  fortune 
of  individuals  is  wrapt  in  the  uncertain  future.  For  myself, 
I  must  own  that  I  feel  a  foreboding  at  my  heart  which  I  can- 
not throw  off.  I  can  only  say,  if  my  hour  is  come,  (and  I 
think  it  is  not  distant,)  I  am  prepared.  I  have  been  able 
to  do  but  little;  but  if  Providence  has  no  further  work  for 
me  to  perform,  I  am  ready  to  be  discharged  from  the  war- 
fare. It  is  my  purpose,  before  I  am  taken  from  }tou,  to  make 
a  disposition  of  my  property  for  the  benefit  of  this  infant 
community.  My  heart's  desire  is,  that  in  the  picture  of  its 
future  prospects  which  I  behold  in  mental  view,  the  last  and 
best  of  earthly  blessings  shall  not  be  wanting.  I  shall  deem 
my  life  not  spent  in  vain,  though  it  be  cut  off  to-morrow,  if 
at  its  close  I  shall  be  accepted  as  the  humble  instrument  of 
promoting  the  great  cause  of  education. 

"  My  friends,  as  I  am  soon  to  join  the  army,  we  meet, 


22  WILLIAMSTOWN    AND    WILLIAMS   COLLEGE. 

many  of  us,  perhaps  for  the  last  time.  I  am  a  solitary 
branch ;  I  can  be  spared.  I  have  no  wife  to  feel  my  loss, 
no  children  to  follow  me  to  the  grave.  Should  I  fall  by  the 
tomahawk  or  in  front  of  honorable  battle,  on  the  shores  of 
the  stormy  lake  or  in  the  infested  woods,  this  poor  body 
may  want  even  a  friendly  hand  to  protect  it  from  insult — 
but  I  must  take  the  chances  of  a  soldier's  life.  When  I  am 
gone  you  will  find  some  proof  that  my  last  thoughts  were 
with  the  settlers  of  Fort  Massachusetts;  and,  perhaps,  at 
some  future  day,  should  my  desire  to  serve  you  and  }rour 
children  not  be  disappointed,  my  humble  name  will  not  be 
forgotten  in  the  public  assembly,  and  posterity  will  bestow 
a  tear  on  the  memory  of  Ephraim  Williams." 


WILLIAMSTOWN    AND    WILLIAMS    COLLEGE. 


23 


CHAPTER  V. 

The  Establishment  of  the  College. 

Colonel  Williams  had  often  been  heard  to  lament  his  own 
lack  of  a  liberal  education,  and  it  was  doubtless  the  sense 
of  his  disadvantages  on  that  account  which  prompted  him  to 
devote  his  property  to  the  purposes  of  education  by  estab- 
lishing an  institution  which  should  be  open  to  all  who  might 
seek  its  benefits.  He  thought  he  could  bestow  no  greater 
favor  upon  his  soldier  companions,  who  had  become  en- 
deared to  him  by  their  common  toils  and  exposures  in  Fort 
Massachusetts  and  in  campaigns  on  the  frontier,  than  to 
provide  for  their  children  and  those  who  should  succeed 
them  the  benefits  of  a  good  education. 

The  history  of  Colonel  Williams'  bequest  is  interesting  as 
showing  what  fruit  may  come  from  a  small  seed,  and  the 
changed  condition  of  things  and  of  our  ideas  and  estimates 
since  the  time  that  his  will  was  made.  The  amount  of  prop- 
erty left  by  Williams  would  seem  to  any  one  now  ridicu- 
lously small  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a  school  of  any 
sort.  Even  at  the  time  the  bequest  was  made,  it  was  so  in- 
adequate to  its  purpose  that  it  was  only  after  it  had  been 
converted  into  money  and  carefully  husbanded  by  the  ex- 
ecutors, by  being  allowed  to  increase  at  compound  interest 
for  thirty  years,  that  the}7  felt  warranted  in  attempting  to 
put  the  contemplated  school  in  actual  operation.  At  length, 
in  the  year  1785,  they  ventured  to  apply  to  the  Legislature 
for  an  act  enabling  them  to  fulfill  the  intention  of  the  tes- 
tator. Thereupon  an  act  was  passed  incorporating  William 
Williams,  Theodore  Sedgwick,  Woodbridge  Little,  John 
Bacon,  Thompson  J.  Skinner,  Israel  Jones,  David  Noble, 
Rev.  Seth  Swift,  Rev.  Daniel  Collins,  persons  of  the  highest 
distinction  in  Western  Massachusetts,  "  trustees  of  the  dona- 

24 


WILLIAMSTOWN    AND   WILLIAMS   COLLEGE.  25 

tion  of  Ephraim  Williams  for  maintaining  a  free  school  in 
Williamstown." 

The  trustees,  almost  all  of  whom  were  graduates  of  Yale 
College,  held  their  first  meeting  soon  after  the  act  of  incor- 
poration was  passed.  They  found  the  property  intrusted  to 
them  so  insufficient  for  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  designed 
that  they  at  once  appointed  three  of  their  number  a  com- 
mittee to  procure  additional  funds.  At  the  same  time  they 
voted  that  the  school  should  be  open  and  free  not  only  to 
the  people  of  Williamstown,  but  to  "  the  free  citizens  of  the 
American  States  indiscriminately."  That  they  were  under- 
taking to  establish  something  more  than  an  ordinary  tree 
school  is  shown  also  by  a  vote,  passed  at  an  early  stage  of 
their  proceedings,  that  the  building  for  the  school  should  be 
constructed  of  bricks,  and  should  be  seventy-two  feet  in 
length,  forty  feet  wide,  and  three  stories  high.  As  they 
went  on  with  their  work,  however,  the  ideas  of  the  trustees 
seem  to  have  expanded,  and  the  building  finally  erected, 
and  as  it  stands  to-day,  is  eighty-two  feet  in  length,  forty- 
two  in  width,  and  four  stories  high.  It  was  a  notable  struc- 
ture for  the  place  and  the  time,  and  compares  favorably  now 
with  many  buildings  of  more  pretentious  character  and  more 
recent  date.  It  is,  indeed,  a  marvel  that  an  edifice  so  solid 
and  impressive  in  appearance  as  it  is  to-day  should  have 
been  erected  nearly  a  century  ago,  and  in  what  was  almost 
literalhr  a  wilderness.  This  is  the  building  now  known  as 
West  College.  Its  site  overlooks  the  town  and  a  large  por- 
tion of  the  adjacent  country,  the  range  of  vision  being  lim- 
ited only  by  the  lofty  hills  or  mountains  which  lift  them- 
selves on  every  side. 

'  It  is  another  indication  of  the  scarcity  of  money  then,  as 
well  as  of  a  change  in  moral  apprehension,  that  the  trustees 
felt  obliged  to  resort  to  the  help  of  a  lottery  in  order  to 
secure  the  funds  needful  for  the  erection  of  their  contem- 
plated building.  The  Legislature,  on  their  application,  gave 
them  a  grant  for  a  lottery,  and  the  result  was  an  addition  of 
£1,037  IS*.  2d  to  their  resources.  With  this,  and  a  suh- 
4 


26 


WILLIAMSTOWN    AND    WILLIAMS   COLLEGE. 


WILLIAMSTOWN    AND    WILLIAMS    COLLEGE.  27 

scription  of  $2,000  by  the  residents  of  Williamstown,  they 
were  at  length  enabled  to  erect  their  building. 

The  school  was  opened  October  20,  1791,  with  the  Rev. 
Ebenezer  Fitch,  a  graduate  of  Yale  College,  as  preceptor, 
and  Mr.  John  Lester,  as  assistant.  There  were  two  depart- 
ments— a  grammar  school,  or  academy,  and  an  English  free 
school.  In  the-  first,  the  usual  college  studies  of  that  day 
were  taught ;  in  the  second,  instruction  in  the  common 
English  studies  was  given  to  a  company  of  boys  from  the 
higher  classes  in  the  common  schools  of  the  town.  The 
school  was  popular  and  successful  from  the  beginning. 

There  was  no  institution  nearer  than  the  colleges  at  Han- 
over and  New  Haven  so  attractive  to  those  ambitious  of 
learning.  Young  men  came  to  it  from  the  neighboring 
States,  and  even  from  Canada.  The  popularity  of  the  school 
was  such,  indeed,  that  the  trustees,  the  next  year  after  its 
opening,  sent  a  petition  to  the  Legislature  asking  that  it 
might  be  incorporated  as  a  college.  The  petition  was 
granted,  and  an  act  of  incorporation,  changing  the  Free 
School  into  a  College,  by  the  name  of  Williams  College,  was 
passed  on  the  22d  of  June,  1793.  By  this  act  the  trustees 
of  the  school,  with  the  addition  of  Rev.  Stephen  West,  D.  D., 
Henry  Van  Schaack,  Hon.  Elijah  Williams,  and  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  College  for  the  time  being  were  constituted  trus- 
tees of  the  College.  By  the  same  act  all  the  property  belong- 
ing to  the  Free  School  was  transferred  to  the  corporation  of 
the  College,  and  a  grant  of  four  thousand  dollars  was  also 
made  from  the  State  treasury  for  the  purchase  of  a  library 
and  philosophical  apparatus.  The  English  school  was  now 
discontinued,  but  the  academy  was  maintained  for  several 
years. 

At  the  first  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  after  the  in- 
corporation of  the  College,  Rev.  Ebenezer  Fitch,  who  had 
been  master  of  the  Free  School,  was  unanimously  chosen 
President  of  the  College,  Rev.  Stephen  West,  D.  D.,  Vice- 
President,  and  Daniel  Dewrey,  Secretary.  It  was  voted  that 
commencement  be  on  the  first  Wednesday  of  September. 


28  WILLIAMSTOWN   AND    WILLIAMS   COLLEGE. 

It  was  voted  also  that  applicants  for  admission  to  the  Col- 
lege must  be  "  able  accurately  to  read,  parse,  and  construe, 
to  the  satisfaction  of  the  President  and  tutor,  Virgil's  iEneid, 
Tully's  Orations,  and  the  Evangelists  in  Greek,"  or,  if  pre- 
ferring to  become  acquainted  with  French,  "  be  able  to  read 
and  pronounce,  with  a  tolerable  degree  of  accuracy  and 
fluency,  Hudson's  French  Scholar's  Guide,  Telemachus,  or 
some  other  approved  French  author." 

Messrs.  Skinner,  Swift,  and  Noble  were  appointed  a  "com- 
mittee to  counsel  the  President." 

Mr.  Noble  also  received  the  thanks  of  the  Board  for  his 
present  of  a  bell. 

The  traditional  commencement  dinner  was  also  provided 
for,  a  vote  being  passed  "  that  a  public  dinner  be  provided 
at  the  next  commencement,  for  the  President,  Trustees,  and 
officers  of  the  College,  together  with  such  other  gentlemen 
as  the  President  may  invite." 

Thus  the  College  was  actually  founded  and  set  in  opera- 
tion, its  outward  equipment  being  the  single  building  now 
known  as  West  College,  and  its  teaching  faculty  consisting 
of  the  President  and  one  tutor.  West  College  combined  in 
itself  chapel,  library,  recitation  rooms,  studies,  and  dormi- 
tories, as  the  President  combined  in  himself  a  whole  body 
of  professors,  teaching  all  branches  of  knowledge.  For 
thirty  years  or  more  recitations  were  held  in  some  of  the 
student's  rooms,  one  in  each  class  allowing  his  room  to  be 
used  for  the  purpose,  and  receiving  some  compensation,  in 
the  way  of  free  instruction  or  otherwise,  for  keeping  his 
room  in  a  condition  for  such  use.  A  room  on  the  south 
side  of  West  College,  and  embracing  the  second  and  third 
stories,  served  for  the  chapel  until  Griffin  Hall  was  built 
and  constructed  especially  with  a  view  to  furnish  appropri- 
ate accommodations  for  a  chapel  and  for  recitations.  As 
originally  constructed  a  hall  passed  through  West  College 
from  east  to  west.  Since  the  building,  unfortunately  in 
some  respects,  stands  quite  in  the  public  road,  this  hall  be- 
came a  convenient  passageway  not  only  for  students  occu- 


WILLIAMSTOWN    AND    WILLIAMS   COLLEGE.  29 

pying  the  building,  but  for  all  sorts  of  people  who  might 
have  occasion  to  pass  up  or  down  the  street  for  business  or 
pleasure.  This  annoyance  and  disturbance  of  the  quiet  of 
the  occupants  led  to  a  remodelling  of  the  building  by  which 
access  is  had  to  the  rooms  from  each  end  of  it,  but  without 
there  being  any  passage  through  it. 

Bui  West  ( Jollege  did  not  long  stand  alone  as  the  outward 
embodiment  of  Williams  College.  In  January,  1796,  the 
Legislature  supplemented  its  previous  bounty  by  granting 
the  College  two  townships  of  land  in  Maine,  which  then  be- 
longed to  Massachusetts.  These  were  sold  the  same  year 
for  about  810,000,  and  this  sum,  with  s*2,500  derived  from 
other  sources,  was  used  the  next  year  for  the  erection  of  East 
College.  This  was  a  brick  building  of  nearly  the  same  size 
as  West  College.  It  contained  two  recitation  rooms  and 
thirty-two  other  rooms.  It  stood  forty-four  years,  but  in 
1841  was  burnt  and  replaced  the  next  year  by  the  present 
East  College,  one  story  less  in  height,  and  by  South  College, 
which  was  built  at  the  same  time. 

The  first  Commencement  took  place  in  1795,  when  a  crass 
of  four  graduated.  Three  of  these  were  from  Stockbridge, 
then  the  largest  and  most  important  town  in  Western  Massa- 
chusetts, and  one  from  Lenox.  The  next  year  a  class  of  six 
graduated.  The  third  year  there  were  ten,  and  the  fourth 
year  thirty.  So  rapidly  did  this  College  in  the  wilderness 
glow  and  prove  its  reason  for  being.  In  1795  the  Catalogue 
of  the  College  contained  the  names  of  seventy-seven  students, 
and  there  were  fifty  more  connected  with  the  Academy 
which  was  attached  to  the  College.  This  catalogue  is  said 
to  have  been  the  first  College  Catalogue  published  in  this 
country.  Yale  College  published  a  catalogue  one  year  later, 
and  other  colleges  soon  followed  the  example.  Eor  many 
years  these  catalogues  were  printed  as  broadsides,  on  a  single 
sheet,  in  handbill  form.  Specimens  of  them  may  now  be 
seen  in  the  cabinet  of  the  Lyceum  of  Natural  History,  where 
doubtless  they  were  placed  because  of  their  supposed  rela- 
tionship to  other  natural  curiosities. 


30  WILLIAMSTOWN    AND    WILLIAMS    COLLEGE. 

The  first  Commencements  were  held  in  the  diminutive 
meeting-house  built  for  religious  worship  in  the  infancy  of 
the  town.  But  this  was  so  inconvenient  and  inadequate  for 
the  College  requirements  that  the  trustees  voted  to  hold 
their  Commencements  in  Pittsfield  or  Lanesborough  unless 
the  town  would  provide  a  more  suitable  place.  Before  the 
next  Commencement  a  larger  building  was  erected  by  the 
ecclesiastical  parish,  the  College  contributing  one  hundred 
pounds  towards  its  cost,  on  condition  that  seats  should  be 
reserved  for  students  on  the  Sabbath,  and  that  the  College 
should  have  the  use  of  the  house  on  public  days.* 

This  house  stood  in  the  middle  of  the  broad  main-street, 
alter  the  fashion  of  many  of  the  older  New  England  churches, 
and  was  the  eastern  border  of  the  Park  which  was  formed 
a  few  years  ago.  After  standing  more  than  sixty  years,  the 
most  conspicuous  object,  perhaps,  in  the  village,  it  was  con- 
sumed by  fire.  The  parish  were  then  induced  by  liberal 
offers  from  the  trustees  to  relinquish  the  former  site,  and  to 
build  the  capacious  church  which  now  so  amply  and  con- 
veniently accommodates  the  College. 

Time  proveriably  brings  great  changes.  The  older  resi- 
dents tell  us  that  Commencements  now  are  very  different 
from  what  they  were  in  former  years.  In  the  days  before 
railroads  had  given  Williamstown  easy  communication  with 
the  outside  world,  or  traveling  shows  were  wont  to  frequent 
its  vicinity,  Commencement  was  the  great  show  and  attrac- 
tion of  the  year.  All  classes  and  occupations,  old  and  young, 
literary  and  illiterate  alike  flocked  to  the  scene.  The  old 
church,  that  looked  down  from  its  eminence  at  the  west- 
ern extremity  of  the  broad  village  avenue,  was  the  focus  of 
attraction.  Vehicles  of  all  descriptions,  not  only  from  the 
town,  but  from  the  surrounding  country,  and  from  quite  a 
<  H stance,  brought  their  eager  companies.  The  fences  around 
and  trees  were  taken  possession  of  as  hitching  places  for  the 
waiting  and  feeding  animals.     The  venders  of  ginger-bread, 

*  Durfee's  Hist. 


WILLIAMSTOWN    AND    WILLIAMS   COLLEGE.  31 

peanuts,  candy  and  cakes  were  present  with  their  booths  and 
stands.  Barrels  of  cider  were  not  wanting,  and  it  was  not 
difficult  to  procure  a  stronger  drink.  80,  as  the  day  wore 
on,  there  was  often  a  ludicrous  mixture  of  the  literary  with 
what  had  little  affiliation  with  it.  The  classic  language 
within  doors  contrasted  strongly  with  much  of  the  discourse 
outside,  and  it  was  an  exceptional  occasion  if  the  day  closed 
without  some  pugilistic  encounters. 

Hawthorne  was  once,  at  least,  an  attendant  upon  Com- 
mencement here,  and  thus  gives  his  impressions  in  his 
American  Note-Books: 

"  Wednesday,  August  15th,  1838. — I  went  to  Commence- 
ment at  Williams  College.  At  the  tavern  were  students 
with  ribbons,  pink  or  blue,  fluttering  from  their  button- 
holes, these  being  the  badges  of  rival  societies.  There  was 
a  considerable  gathering  of  people,  chiefly  arriving  in 
wagons  or  buggies,  some  in  barouches,  and  very  few  in 
chaises.  The  most  characteristic  part  of  the  scene  was 
where  the  pedlers,  ginger-bread  sellers,  &c,  were  collected 
a  few  hundred  yards  from  the  meeting-house.  There  was  a 
pedler  there  from  New  York  State,  who  sold  his  wares  by 
auction,  and  I  could  have  stood  and  listened  to  him  all  day 
long.  Sometimes  he  would  put  up  a  heterogeny  of  articles 
in  a  lot,  as  a  paper  of  pins,  a  lead-pencil,  and  a  shaving-box, 
and  knock  them  all  down,  perhaps  for  nine  pence.  Bunches 
of  lead-pencils,  steel-pens,  pound  cakes  of  shaving-soap,  gilt 
finger-rings,  bracelets,  clasps,  and  other  jewelry,  cards  of 
pearl  buttons  or  steel,  ('  There  is  some  steel  about  them, 
gentlemen,  for  my  brother  stole  'em,  and  I  bore  him  out  in 
it,')  bundles  of  wooden  combs,  boxes  of  matches,  suspenders, 
and,  in  short,  everything — dipping  his  hand  down  into  his 
wares  with  the  promise  of  a  wonderful  lot,  and  producing, 
perhaps,  a  bottle  of  opodeldoc,  and  joining  it  with  a  lead- 
pencil — and  when  he  had  sold  several  things  of  the  same 
kind,  pretending  huge  surprise  at  finding  'just  one  more,' 
if  the  lads  lingered,  saying,  '  I  could  not  afford  to  steal  them 
for  the  price,  for  the  remorse  of  conscience  would  be  worth 


32  WILLIAMSTOWN   AND   WILLIAMS   COLLEGE. 

more,'  all  the  time  keeping  an  eye  on  those  who  bought, 
calling  for  the  pay,  making  change  with  silver  or  bills,  and 
deciding  on  the  goodness  of  banks  ;  and  saying  to  the  bo}rs 
who  climbed  upon  his  cart,  '  Fall  down,  roll  down,  tumble 
down,  only  get  down ; '  and  uttering  everything  in  the  queer, 
humorous  recitative  in  which  he  sold  his  articles.  Home- 
times  he  would  pretend  that  a  person  had  bid,  either  by 
word  or  wink,  and  raised  a  laugh  thus;  never  losing  his 
self-possession,  nor  getting  out  of  humor.  When  a  man 
asked  whether  a  bill  were  good,  'No!  do  you  suppose  I'd 
give  you  good  money?'  When  he  delivered  an  article,  he 
exclaimed,  '  You're  the  lucky  man,'  setting  off  his  wares 
with  the  most  extravagant  eulogies.  The  people  bought 
very  freely,  and  seemed  also  to  enjoy  the  fun.  One  little 
boy  bought  a  shaving-box,  perhaps  meaning  to  speculate 
upon  it.  This  character  could  not  possibly  be  overdrawn  ; 
and  he  was  really  excellent,  with  his  allusion  to  what  was 
passing,  intermingled,  doubtless,  with  a  good  deal  that  was 
studied. 

"A  good  many  people  were  the  better  or  worse  for  liquor. 
There  was  one  fellow,  named  Randall,  I  think,  a  round- 
shouldered,  bulky,  ill-hung  devil,  with  a  pale,  sallow  skin, 
black  beard,  and  a  sort  of  grin  upon  his  face — a  species  of 
laugh,  yet  not  so  much  mirthful  as  indicating  a  strange 
mental  and  moral  twist.  He  was  very  riotous  in  the  crowd* 
elbowing,  thrusting,  seizing  hold  of  people;  and  at  last  a 
ring  was  formed  and  a  regular  wrestling-match  commenced 
between  him  and  a  farmer-looking  man.  Randall  brand- 
ished his  legs  about  in  the  most  ridiculous  style,  but  proved 
himself  a  good  wrestler,  and  finally  threw  his  antagonist.'' 

We  have  spoken  of  the  time  before  railroads,  and  when 
we  consider  the  secluded  situation  of  Williamstown  in  the 
early  days,  hemmed  in  as  it  was  b}r  mountains  on  every  side, 
accessible  with  any  facility  only  through  the  valleys  of  the 
Hoosac  and  the  Housatonic,  it  is  almost  a  matter  of  wonder 
that  so  many  found  their  way  to  the  College,  and  that  as 
early  as  1804  its  catalogue  contained  the  names  of  one  bun- 


WILLIAMSTOWN   AND   WILLIAMS   COLLEGE.  66 

dred  and  forty-four  students,  and  both  the  College  buildings 
were  full. 

Ex-Governor  Emory  Washburn,  of  the  class  of  1816 
has  given  a  description  of  his  experience  of  college  life 
then,  which  will  help  to  an  understanding  of  the  condi- 
tion of  things  at  the  time.  He  says,  "  it  is  difficult  at  this 
•  lay  to  make  one  understand  the  perfect  isolation  of  the 
spot.  During  my  residence  in  college,  nothing  in  the  form 
of  stage-coach  or  vehicle  for  public  communication  ever  en- 
tered the  town.  Once  a  week  a  solitary  messenger,  generally 
on  horseback,  came  over  the  Florida  Mountain,  bringing 
us  our  newspapers  and  letters  from  Boston  and  the  eastern 
parts  of  the  State.  Once  in  a  week  a  Mr.  Green  came  up 
from  the  South,  generally  in  a  one-horse  wagon,  bringing 
the  county  newspapers  printed  at  Stockbridge  and  Pittsfield; 
and  by  some  similar  mode,  and  at  like  intervals,  we  heard 
from  Troy  and  Albany.  With  the  exception  of  these,  not 
a  ripple  of  the  commotions  that  disturbed  the  world  outside 
of  these  barriers  of  hills  and  mountains  ever  reached  the 
unruffled  calm  of  our  valley  life.  Nor  was  that  all.  It  was 
scarcely  less  difficult  to  reach  the  place  by  private  than  by 
public  conveyance,  except  by  one's  own  means  of  transit. 
My  home,  you  are  aware,  was  near  the  center  of  the  State. 
And  as  my  resources  were  too  limited  to  make  use  of  a  pri- 
vate conveyance,  I  was  compelled  to  rely  upon  stage  and 
chance.  My  route  was  by  stage  to  Pittsfield,  and  thence 
by  a  providential  team  or  carriage  the  remainder  of  my 
journey. 

"  I  have  often  smiled  as  I  have  recalled  with  what  perse- 
vering assiduity  I  waylaid  every  man  who  passed  by  the 
hotel  in  order  to  find  some  one  who  would  consent  to  take 
as  a  passenger  a  luckless  wight  in  pursuit  of  an  education 
under  such  difficulties.  I  think  I  am  warranted  in  saying 
that  I  made  that  passage  in  every  form  and  shape  of  team 
and  vehicle,  generally  a  loaded  one,  which  the  ingenuity  of 
man  had,  up  to  that  time,  ever  constructed.  My  bones  ache 
at  the  mere  recollection  I 


34  WILLIAM STOWN   AND   WILLIAMS   COLLEGE. 

"  While  such  was  the  difficulty  of  access  to  the  College,  it 
presented  little,  to  the  eye  of  one  who  visited  it  for  the  first 
time,  to  reward  the  struggle  it  had  cost  him.  When  I  joined 
it,  it  had  two  buildings,  and,  I  think,  fifty-eight  students, 
with  two  professors  and  two  tutors.  The  East  College  was 
a  fine,  plain,  imposing  structure,  four  stories  in  height,  built 
of  brick.  Not  one  of  its  lower  rooms  was  occupied,  and  a 
part  only  of  its  other  stories.  Not  one  of  the  rooms  or  pas- 
sageways was  painted.  No  one  of  the  rooms  was  papered, 
or  even  had  a  carpet  upon  it ;  and  I  do  not  believe  the 
entire  furniture  of  any  one  room,  excepting  perhaps  the 
bed,  could  have  cost,  or  would  have  sold  for,  five  dollars.  I 
have  before  me  a  bill  of  the  furniture  of  the  Senior  Recita- 
tion-room in  1816,  including  the  locks  upon  the  doors,  and 
find  it  amounts  to  $7.26. 

"  The  only  water  we  had  to  use  was  drawn  from  a  spring 
at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  south  of  the  East  College,  and  to 
that  every  student  from  both  Colleges  repaired  with  his  pail 
as  his  necessities  required.  The  consequence  was,  it  must 
be  confessed,  there  was  no  excessive  use  of  that  element  of 
comfort  and  neatness." 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Threatened  Removal  of  the  College. 

Popular  and  flourishing  as  the  College  was  at  the  begin- 
ing  and  for  several  years,  during  the  latter  part  of  the  pres- 
idency of  Dr.  Fitch  there  came  a  decline  in  its  reputation 
and  prosperity.  By  some  this  was  attributed  to  the  locality 
of  the  College,  which  placed  it  at  a  considerable  distance 
from  the  central  and  most  of  the  western  portion  of  the 
Slate,  while  other  colleges  had  also  been  founded  in  New- 
York  and  Vermont  since  its  establishment,  which  drew 
students  from  fields  to  which  it  had  formerly  looked  for  a 
supply  of  pupils.  Influenced  by  these,  among  other  reasons, 
there  came  to  be  a  strong  disposition  on  the  part  of  many 
to  remove  the  College  from  Williamstown  to  some  place  in 
the  valley  of  the  Connecticut,  "While  this  subject  was  in 
agitation,  Dr.  Fitch  resigned  his  office,  unwilling  that  the 
decline  of  the  College  should  be  attributed  to  any  want  of 
ability  or  efficiency  on  his  part.  He  was  succeeded  in  office 
by  Rev.  Zephaniah  Swift  Moore,  D.  D.,  who  came  to  the  Col- 
lege with  his  mind  favorably  inclined  to  its  removal.  A 
( 'ommittee  of  the  Trustees,  however,  to  whom  the  question 
of  removal  had  been  referred,  reported,  at  the  same  meeting 
at  which  Dr.  Moore  was  chosen  President,  that  "  a  removal 
of  Williams  College  from  Williamstown  is  inexpedient  at 
the  present  time,  and  under  existing  circumstances."  But 
the  agitation  of  the  question  went  on,  and  a  few  years  after 
his  inauguration,  President  Moore  declared  himself  openly 
in  favor  of  removal,  threatening  to  resign  his  office  if  the 
removal  were  not  effected,  and  it  was  found  that  a  majority 
of  the  Trustees  also  favored  it.  A  proposal  was  made  to 
unite  the  College  with  a  projected  literary  institution  at 
Amherst.  This  was  declined  b}^  the  Board.  Finally  a  ma- 
jority of  the  Board  voted  that  it  was  expedient  to  remove 

35 


36  WILLIAMSTOWN    AND   WILLIAMS    COLLEGE. 

the  College  to  some  more  central  part  of  the  State,  on  cer- 
tain conditions  being  complied  with,  and  appointed  a  com- 
mittee of  reference,  consisting  of  Hon.  James  Kent,  Chan- 
cellor of  the  State  of  New  York;  Hon.  Nathaniel  Smith, 
Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Connecticut,  and  the  Rev. 
Seth  Payson,  D.  D.,  of  New  Hampshire,  who  were  to  visit 
the  towns  in  Hampshire  county  and  determine  the  place  to 
which  the  College  should  be  removed,  the  Trustees  pledg- 
ing themselves  to  abide  by  their  decision.  The  committee 
reported  Northampton  as  the  proper  place.  The  public 
agitation  of  the  question  of  removal  now  increased.  Active 
efforts  were  made  to  raise  funds  for  sustaining  the  College 
at  Northampton,  and  its  friends  in  Berkshire  made  corre- 
sponding efforts  to  provide  additional  funds  for  its  support 
in  its  present  location.  Fifty  thousand  dollars  were  soon 
subscribed  by  the  public  of  Hampshire  county  and  its  vi- 
cinity to  meet  the  expenses  of  the  proposed  .removal  to 
Northampton  and  any  loss  of  funds  which  might  thereby 
be  incurred,  and  the  President  and  Trustees  petitioned  the 
Legislature,  at  its  session  in  1820,  for  permission  to  remove 
the  College  to  that  place.  Remonstrance  against  the  grant- 
ing of  the  petition  was  made  by  the  people  of  Williamstown, 
and  it  was  ardently  opposed  throughout  the  county  of  Berk- 
shire. The  petition  was  carefully  considered  in  the  Legis- 
lature by  a  committee,  who  reported  that  it  was  "  neither 
lawful  nor  expedient  to  grant  the  prayer  of  the  petition." 
It  was  expected  that  all  parties  would  acquiese  in  the  de- 
cision of  the  Legislature,  whatever  it  might  be.  And  now 
that  the  decision  was  in  favor  of  the  continuance  of  the  Col- 
lege on  its  original  site,  it  was  supposed  that  all  the  friends 
of  learning  in  the  western  part  of  the  State  would  give  it 
their  hearty  support.  But  some  of  those  who  were  in  favor 
of  the  removal  were  not  so  disposed,  although  it  had  been 
claimed  by  both  parties,  during  the  agitation,  that  only  one 
college  was  needed  or  could  be  sustained  in  Western  Massa- 
chusetts. Funds  were  soon  raised,  and  a  beginning  made  to 
erect  buildings  at  Amherst,  in  the  expectation  of  procuring 


WTLLIAMSTOWM    AND   WILLIAMS  COLLEGE.  37 

a  charter  for  a  college  there,  and  the  next  year  Dr.  Moore 
accepted  an  invitation  to  the  presidency  of  the  new  institu- 
tion. It  was  feared  that  the  whole  body  of  students  here 
might  follow  him  to  Amherst,  such  was  their  respect  for 
him;  and  so  dark  seemed,  at  the  time,  the  prospects  of 
Williams;  but  fully  half  of  the  students  decided  to  remain 
here.  The  accession  at  once  of  the  Rev.  Edward  Dorr 
( irifrin,  D.  D.,  to  the  presidency,  to  which  office  he  had  been 
chosen  previous  to  Dr.  Moore's  actually  vacating  it,  and  the 
vigorous  rallying  of  its  friends  to  its  support,  enabled  the 
College  to  pass  through  this  great  trial  without  serious  harm, 
and  since  its  occurrence  its  course  has  been  one  of  continued 
and  eonhrmed  strength  and  prosperity. 


38 


WILLIAMSTOWN    AND    WILLIAMS   COLLEGE. 


CHAPTER   VII. 
The  Character  and  Administration  of  the  College. 

One  might,  with  much  confidence,  anticipate  what  the 
character  of  the  College  would  be  from  the  character  of  those 
who  were  actively  engaged  in  founding  it.  The  men  to 
whom  the  Legislature  entrusted  the  duty  of  carrying  out 
the  purpose  of  Colonel  Williams  were  among  the  most  emi- 
nent citizens  of  the  Commonwealth.  They  were  men  who 
not  only  respected  the  wishes  of  Williams,  but  they  were, 
with  hardly  one  exception,  men  of  liberal  education,  men 
of  trained  judgment  and  culture.  Most  of  them  were  gradu- 
ates of  Yale  College,  and  brought  to  the  work  they  had  in 
hand  much  of  the  spirit  of  that  institution. 

The  first  on  the  list  of  trustees,  the  Hon.  William  Will- 
iams, was  the  son  of  Hon.  Israel  Williams  of  Hatfield,  and 
a  cousin  of  the  Founder  of  the  College.  He  graduated  at 
Yale  College  in  1754,  was  clerk  of  the  Court  of  Common 
Pleas  for  Hampshire  county,  and  held  many  offices  of  trust. 
The  latter  part  of  his  life  was  spent  in  Dalton.  Dr.  West,  in 
a  sermon  preached  at  his  funeral,  says,  "  he  was  leader  and 
guide  to  the  people  for  many  years  ;  an  ornament  and  glory 
of  the  town  as  a  citizen  and  Christian." 

The  Hon.  Theodore  Sedgwick,  LL.  D.,of  Stockbridge,  had 
a  national  reputation.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Yale  College 
in  1765.  He  has  the  credit,  as  much  as  any  one,  of  procur- 
ing the  abolition  of  slavery  in  Massachusetts.  He  was  a 
leading  member  of  the  State  Convention  for  the  consider- 
ation of  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution,  and  urged 
its  adoption.  He  was  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives of  Massachusetts,  a  Representative  and  Senator  in  the 
National  Congress,  and  a  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
State.  He  was  not  only  one  of  the  original  trustees  of  the 
College,  but  at  one  time  held  the  office  of  Professor  of  Law 
and  Civil  Polity. 

39 


40  WILLIAMSTOWN   AND   WILLIAMS   COLLEGE. 

Woodbridge  Little,  Esq.,  a  native  of  Colchester,  Conn.,  and 
a  graduate  also  of  Yale  College,  after  studying  theology,  and 
engaging  in  the  work  of  the  Christian  ministry  for  a  few 
years,  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  settled  in  Pittsfield,  and 
became  one  of  the  most  eminent  men  of  that  town  and  of  the 
county.  He  was  an  early  and  large  benefactor  of  the  Col- 
lege, and  at  his  death  also  left  it  an  important  bequest. 

Hon.  John  Bacon,  a  native  of  Connecticut,  graduated  at 
Princeton  College.  He  was  for  a  time  Pastor  of  the  Old 
South  Church,  Boston,  but  in  1775  left  that  church  and 
settled  in  Stock  bridge  as  a  civilian.  He  became  prominent 
in  public  affairs,  was  often  a  member  of  the  Legislature, 
once  President  of  the  Senate,  a  Member  of  Congress,  and  first 
judge  of  the  county  courts  for  nearly  twenty  years. 

Hon.  Thompson  J.  Skinner,  a  native  of  Connecticut,  as 
were  so  many  of  the  first  settlers  of  Williamstown  and  of 
Berkshire,  came  early  to  Williamstown,  and  was  a  man  of 
great  influence.  He  was  not  only  a  Trustee,  but  also  Treas- 
urer of  the  College.  He  was  also  Treasurer  of  the  State  and 
Chief  Justice  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas. 

Israel  Jones,  Esq.,  a  native  of  Weston,  came  to  Adams  in 
1766,  and  purchased  the  farm  on  which  Fort  Massachusetts 
stood.  He  was  a  man  of  excellent  character,  often  appointed 
to  posts  of  civil  trust  and  honor,  and  was  frequently  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Legislature. 

Hon.  David  Noble  was  a  native  of  New  Milford,  Conn., 
and  graduated  at  Yale  College  in  1764,  and  came  to  Wil- 
liamstown in  1770.  He  was  a  lawyer  and  afterwards  a 
merchant,  and  became  an  extensive  land  owner.  He  was 
a  man  of  great  intelligence  and  enterprise,  and  was  made  a 
Judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas. 

Rev.  Seth  Swift  was  a  native  of  Kent,  Conn.,  and  gradu- 
ated at  Yale  College  in  1774.  He  was  ordained  to  the  min- 
istry in  Williamstown  in  1779,  in  which  office  he  continued 
nearly  thirty  years. 

Rev.  Daniel  Collins  was  born  at  Guilford,  Conn.,  and  grad- 
uated at  Yale  College  in  1760.     He  was  pastor  of  the  church 


WILLIAMSTOWN   AND   WILLIAMS   COLLEGE.  41 

in  Lancsborough  nearly  fifty  years,  and  was  greatly  beloved 
and  esteemed.  He  was  deeply  interested  in  the  College  and 
devoted  to  its  welfare. 

Rev.  Stephen  West,  D.  D.,  was  born  at  Tolland,  Conn., 
and  graduated  at  Yale  College  in  1755.  He  was  chaplain 
at  Fort  Massachusetts  for  a  short  time,  from  which  he  went 
to  Stockbridge,  as  the  successor  of  the  distinguished  Presi- 
dent Edwards,  where  he  continued  his  ministry  more  than 
sixty  years.  He  was  one  of  the  most  eminent  clergymen  of 
the  country,  and  had  great  influence  far  and  wide.  At  the 
first  meeting  of  the  Trustees  he  was  chosen  Vice-President 
of  the  College,  and  held  that  office  for  twenty  years.* 

Such  were  the  men  under  whose  direction  and  by  whose 
counsels  the  College  was  set  in  operation,  and  by  whom  its 
character  was  shaped.  They  were  men  foremost  in  civil 
and  in  professional  life,  men  of  the  highest  character  for  in- 
telligence and  moral  worth.  They  were  men,  nearly  all  of 
them,  who  had  themselves  been  trained  in  one  of  our  no- 
blest seats  of  learning.  It  was  almost  certain  that  the  new 
college  which  they  were  establishing  on  the  frontier  should 
partake  largely  the  spirit  of  the  older  institution,  and  that 
Williams  should  be  a  child  of  Yale. 

The  College  has  had  from  the  begining  an  able  class  of 
instructors,  men  of  solid  rather  than  showy  and  superficial 
qualities,  and  latterly  the  instruction  has  been  given  wholly 
by  professors,  tutors  no  longer  being  employed. 

The  Hon.  Charles  A,  Dewey,  for  many  years  a  Trustee 
and  Secretary  of  the  College,  in  an  address  at  the  celebra- 
tion of  the  semi-centennial  anniversary  in  1843,  used  this 
language : 

"  Williams  College  was  peculiarly  fortunate  in  its  first 
officers.  President  Fitch,  that  good  man,  who  for  almost 
twenty-two  years,  almost  half  of  the  whole  period  of  its  past 
existence,  presided  over  it,  brought  to  the  presidential  chair 
those  qualities  which  gave  him   extensive  influence,  and 

*  Durfee's  History. 


42  WILLIAMSTOWN   AND   WILLIAMS   COLLEGE. 

attracted  the  attention  of  the  friends  of  learning  and 
science.  Uniting  the  urbane  manners  of  the  good-hearted 
gentleman,  highly  respectable  talents,  much  and  long-con- 
tinued experience  as  a  teacher,  and  a  heart  abounding  in 
love  to  God  and  towards  his  fellowmen,  he  was  beloved  of 
all,  esteemed  of  all. 

"  His  associates,  as  teachers,  were  men  of  the  highest  order. 
I  see  there  Jeremiah  Day,  since  so  long  at  the  head  of  Yale 
College ;  Henry  Davis,  who  has  presided  over  Middlebury 
and  Hamilton  Colleges ;  Thomas  Day  and  Warren  Dutton, 
lights  of  science  and  literature. 

"  The  accession  of  Dr.  Griffin  gave  a  new  impulse  to  the 
College.  His  eminent  talents,  his  high  religious  character, 
his  ardent  devotion  to  the  College,  as  then  located,  produced 
the  happiest  results.  The  tide  soon  turned ;  and  from  that 
day  Williams  College  has  had  a  glorious  onward  march. 
Its  enlargement  and  improvement  have  corresponded  with 
the  progress  of  the  age.  Everything  requisite  for  a  thorough 
and  useful  education  is  provided,  so  that  our  sons,  to  our 
latest  posterity,  may  come  to  this  fount  and  drink  freely  of 
those  waters  so  well  adapted  to  secure  their  intellectual  and 
moral  training,  and  to  fit  them  to  act  well  their  parts  of  the 
great  drama  of  life." 

A  letter  of  the  first  president  to  a  friend,  as  early  as  1799, 
will  indicate  the  character  with  which  the  College  began. 
He  says  :  "  Things  go  on  well  in  our  infant  seminary.  Our 
number  is  hardly  so  large  as  last  year.  The  scarcity  of 
money  is  one  cause  of  the  decline,  some  leaving  through 
mere  poverty.  But  our  ambition  is  to  make  good  scholars 
rather  than  add  to  our  numbers,  and  in  this  we  mean  not 
to  be  outdone  by  any  college  in  New  .England.  Persever- 
ance in  the  system  we  have  adopted  will  eventually  give 
reputation  to  this  Institution  in  the  view  of  all  who  prefer 
the  useful  to  the  showy."  An  extract  from  the  inaugural 
address  of  President  Hopkins,  nearly  forty  years  later,  will 
show  that  the  College  then  maintained  its  earl}*  character  : 


WILLIAMSTOWN    AND    WILLIAMS   COLLEGE.  43 

"  I  have  no  ambition  to  build  up  here  what  would  be  called 
a  great  institution ;  the  wants  of  the  community  do  not  re- 
quire it.  But  I  do  desire,  and  shall  labor,  that  this  may  be 
a  safe  College;  that  its  reputation  may  be  sustained  and 
raised  still  higher;  that  the  plan  of  instruction  I  have  in- 
dicated may  be  carried  out  more  fully ;  that  here  there  may 
be  health,  and  cheerful  study,  and  kind  feelings,  and  pure 
morals  ;  and  that,  in  the  memory  of  future  students,  college 
life  may  be  made  a  still  more  verdant  spot."  The  promi- 
nent characteristics  of  the  College  during  Dr.  Hopkins'  long 
administration,  as  well  as  from  the  beginning,  could  hardly 
be  better  expressed  than  by  those  words  of  his,  "  health, 
cheerful  study,  kind  feelings,  and  pure  morals."  The  situ- 
ation of  the  College  among  the  far-famed  hills  of  Berkshire 
is  evidently  favorable  to  health  ;  and  all  who  know  anything 
of  it  know  that  during  the  protracted  and  distinguished  ad- 
ministration to  which  we  have  just  alluded,  the  College  has 
had  an  enviable  reputation  as  a  place  where  the  students  have 
been  interested  in  their  studies,  and,  in  general,  have  been 
faithful  in  their  work;  where  the  moral  tone  of  life  has  been 
high,  and  where  the  instructors  have  sought  to  blend  the 
offices  of  teacher  and  friend,  having  the  true  conception  of 
education,  as  the  drawing  out — e-duco — what  is  in  the  pupil, 
the  development  of  his  own  powers  rather  than  the  endeavor 
to  clothe  him  with  the  mantle  of  another's  knowledge  or  ac- 
complishments. These  characteristics  of  the  College  have 
continued  to  mark  it  also  under  the  more  recent  adminis- 
trations. 

It  speaks  well  also  for  the  College  and  the  character  of  its 
instruction  that  a  larger  portion  of  the  College  text-books 
now  in  general  use  have  been  prepared  by  the  professors  in 
this  institution  than  by  those  of  any  other  college,  with  the 
possible  exception  of  Yale  and  Harvard. 

Quality  rather  than  quantity  has  been  the  aim  of  Will- 
iams. She  has  not  undertaken  to  be  a  Universit}',  nor  to 
advertise  herself  by  the  numbers  that  might  be  drawn  to 
her  halls.     Calling  herself  a  College,  she  has  aimed  to  do 


44  WILLI AMSTOWN   AND   WILLIAMS   COLLEGE. 

the  appropriate  work  of  a  College,  but  to  do  that  work  in 
the  best  and  most  effective  manner. 

One  would  be  safe  in  saying  that  in  no  college  is  the  re- 
ligious atmosphere  more  perceptible  or  more  wholesome 
than  at  Williams.  Free  alike  from  cant  and  bigotry,  from 
looseness  and  indifference,  the  religious  tone  of  the  College 
is  pure  and  healthful  as  the  mountain  air  which  her  students 
breathe.  It  is,  moreover,  not  the  least  of  the  distinctions  of 
this  institution  that,  while  a  large  portion  of  her  students 
have  been  persons  of  avowedly  Christian  character,  the  first 
movement  in  our  country  for  the  Christianization  of  the 
heathen  world  also  had  its  origin  here.  The  stranger  who 
visits  Williamstown  and  asks  for  its  most  interesting  objects 
will  be  directed  to  Mission  Park.  As  he  enters  its  quiet  and 
beautiful  seclusion,  a  marble  monument,  surmounted  by  a 
massive  globe — with  the  continents  and  the  islands  of  the 
sea  boldly  outlined  on  its  surface — emblematic  of  the  world- 
wide reach  of  their  enterprise,  marks  the  spot  where  Mills 
and  Richards  and  Hall  and  Nott,  with  their  associates,  met 
from  time  to  time,  in  the  early  days  of  the  College,  to  ponder 
and  pray  over  that  Divine  Commission, "  Go  ye  into  all  the 
world  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature."  In  those 
ponderings  and  prayers  originated  our  great  Board  of  Foreign 
Missions,  and  also  the  American  Bible  Society.  And  now, 
among  all  the  gatherings  and  attractive  scenes  which  mark 
Commencement-week,  there  is  none  of  more  delightful  and 
at  the  same  time  profound  interest  than  the  assembly  around 
that  monument  in  the  park  on  the  Sabbath  afternoon,  when, 
for  an  hour,  amid  the  utterances  of  prayer  and  song,  and  the 
words  of  one  and  another  veteran  returned  from  the  distant 
mission  fields  of  the  world,  the  heart  is  touched  with  a 
sense  of  the  sublimest  work  which  this  earth  knows. 

Among  the  special  characteristics  of  the  College  which 
grew  out  of  old  Fort  Massachusetts,  whose  commander  was 
wont  to  lament  his  deficient  early  education,  one  of  the 
most  prominent  is  its  devotion  to  the  study  of  the  Natural 
Sciences.     Whether  owing  to  the  appropriate  influence  of 


WILLIAMS  TOW X    AND    WILLIAMS   COLLEGE. 


45 


MISSION   PARK   MONUMENT. 


46  WILLIAMSTOWN    AND    WILLIAMS   COLLEGE. 

the  peculiar  location  of  the  College  amid  scenery  of  the 
most  attractive  character,  or  to  other  causes,  it  is  a  fact  that 
it  has  had  in  its  faculty,  from  an  early  date,  teachers  who 
have  been  ardently  devoted  to  the  study  of  nature,  and  who 
by  their  own  enthusiasm  have  kindled  a  love  of  this  study 
in  many  of  their  pupils.  Early  in  the  present  century  the 
study  of  chemistry  and  natural  philosophy  was  made  prom- 
inent and  attractive  in  connection  with  the  lectures  and 
illustrative  experiments  of  Professor  Dewey.  A  few  years 
later,  lectures  on  mineralogy,  geology,  and  botany  were 
given  by  that  eminent  teacher  of  these  sciences,  Professor 
Amos  Eaton,  who  was  a  pioneer  in  these  departments  of 
study,  and  did  as  much,  perhaps,  as  any  one  to  popularize 
science  in  this  country.  He  was  an  enthusiast.  His  ardent 
love  of  natural  science,  especially  of  botany,  led  him  to  re- 
linquish the  profession  of  the  law,  in  which  he  was  engaged, 
and  devote  himself  to  the  study  of  nature.  He  was  among 
the  first  in  this  country  to  teach  the  sciences,  not  only  in 
the  class-room,  but  in  the  open  field.  He  was  accustomed 
to  take  his  classes  with  him  on  explorations  for  the  study 
of  the  rocks  and  plants  in  the  homes  where  nature  had 
placed  them. 

For  several  years  there  existed  among  the  students  a  so- 
ciety called  the  "  Linnsean  Society."  This  gave  way  to  the 
"  Lyceum  of  Natural  History,"  the  avowed  object  of  which 
is  "  the  study  of  the  natural  sciences,  and  the  prosecution  of 
antiquarian  research."  This  society  has  become  one  of  the 
permanent  organizations  of  the  College.  It  occupies  a  spa- 
cious brick  building,  erected  for  its  use  by  the  late  Nathan 
Jackson,  of  New  York.  Here  the  society  has  gathered  a 
large  collection  of  specimens  in  the  various  departments  of 
natural  history.  Here  also  it  holds  regular  meetings,  and 
in  rooms  adjoining  the  museum  its  members  carry  on  their 
investigations,  and  engage  in  the  practical  work  incidental 
to  their  studies.  The  society  has  been  accustomed  also, 
under  the  lead  often  of  one  or  more  of  the  professors  in  the 
College,  to  make  explorations,  sometimes  in  quite  distant 


WILLIAMSTOWN   AND    WILLIAMS   COLLEGE. 


47 


JACKSON   HALL. 


48  WILLIAMSTOWN   AND   WILLIAMS   COLLEGE. 

regions,  for  the  purpose  of  prosecuting  its  studies  and  mak- 
ing discoveries.  The  late  Professor  Albert  Hopkins,  brother 
of  President  Hopkins,  who  was  an  ardent  and  devout  stu- 
dent of  nature,  often  went  on  such  expeditions,  both  near 
and  remote ;  and  President  Chadbourne,  when  a  professor, 
went  with  the  societ}r  to  Florida,  and  on  another  occasion 
led  an  expedition  to  Greenland.  The  late  Professor  Ten- 
ney  was  on  his  way  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  a  few  years 
ago,  with  another  party,  when  his  sudden  death  put  an  end 
to  the  expedition. 

It  is  worthy  of  mention,  also,  that  the  first  Observatory 
erected  in  this  country  for  astronomical  purposes  was  built 
here.  It  was  erected  through  the  personal  influence,  and 
mainly  at  the  expense,  of  Professor  Hopkins,  whose  devout 
and  saintly  spirit,  carrying  religion  into  all  the  affairs  of 
life,  inscribed  such  texts  of  Scripture  as  this  over  the  door 
of  the  Observatory :  "  For  thus  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  Yet 
once,  it  is  a  little  while,  and  I  will  shake  the  heavens,  and 
"the  earth,  and  the  sea,  and  the  dry  land."  On  the  marble 
face  of  the  sun-dial,  which  stands  by  the  southern  door  of 
the  Observatory,  one  reads  also,  cut  in  deep  letters,  this 
question  of  our  Lord  :  "  How  is  it  that  ye  do  not  discern  this 
time?"  Hawthorne  mentions  this  dial,  in  his  chronicles 
of  a  visit  to  Berkshire.  Speaking  of  the  marble-working  at 
Adams,  he  says,  in  his  Note-Book  :  "  At  one  shop  for  man- 
ufacturing the  marble,  I  saw  the  disk  of  a  sun-dial  as  large 
as  the  top  of  a  hogshead  ;  intended  for  Williams  College." 

The  New  England  Journal  of  Education  has  recently  pub- 
lished, from  data  furnished  by  the  secretary  of  Tufts  Col- 
lege, a  table  showing  the  proportion  of  time  given  to  the  re- 
quired studies  in  ten  New  England  colleges.  From  this  it 
appears  that  while  Williams  gives  just  about  the  average 
time  to  the  ancient  and  modern  languages,  37.5  per  cent., 
she  gives  to  natural  history  10.9,  the  next  highest  on  the 
list  giving  only  7.6,  and  the  general  average  of  the  ten  col- 
leges being  only  4.6.  In  ethics,  again,  Williams  gives  10.8, 
the  next  highest  being  5.7,  and  the  general  average  4.2.    In 


WILLIAMSTOWN    AND    WILLIAMS    COLLEGE. 


49 


THE   OBSERVATORY. 


50  WILLIAMSTOWN    AND   WILLIAMS   COLLEGE. 

philosophy  and  history  studies,  including  political  economy, 
Williams  gives  29.8,  the  next  highest  giving  23.1,  and  the 
general  average  being  17.3. 

This  table  indicates  at  a  glance  the  fact  that  while  Wil- 
liams has  given  the  natural  sciences  an  eminent  place,  it 
has  given  to  mental  and  moral  science  a  pre-eminent  one. 
Under  the  administration  of  such  a  man  as  President  Hop- 
kins, it  could  hardly  have  been  otherwise.  Indisputably  one 
of  the  foremost  philosophic  thinkers  of  our  country  since  the 
time  of  Edwards,  and  combining  with  great  mental  acumen 
remarkable  aptitude  as  a  teacher,  it  was  almost  a  matter  of 
course  that  in  his  hands  philosophic  studies  should  have  a 
place  of  more  than  usual  prominence.     Accordingly,  dur- 

;ing  the  almost  forty  years  of  his  presidency  over  the  college, 
while  other  studies  failed  not  to  receive  due  attention,  or 
other  sciences  proper  regard,  the  Science  of  Man  had  a  place 
which,  so  far  as  we  know,  has  nowhere  else  been  accorded 
to  it.  In  the  college  curriculum  here,  while  the  Senior  year 
has  been  almost  wholly  given  to  this  highest  science,  as  the 
fitting  crown  of  a  collegiate  course,  the  study  of  it  begins 
with  that  course,  Dr.  Hopkins  having  been  accustomed  to 
give  the  Freshman  Class  a  series  of  lectures  on  physiology 
and  the  laws  of  health.  His  own  early  training  for  the  med- 
ical profession  prepared  him  to  do  this  with 'unusual  interest 
and  effect.  The  influence,  also,  of  this  early  training  upon 
his  way  of  looking  at  the  facts  of  mental  and  moral  science 
may  have  aided  him  in  the  construction  of  a  system  of 
philosophy  so  broad  and  self-consistent,  and  so  completely 
in  harmony  with  fact  in  all  departments  of  knowledge,  that 
it  may  well  be  termed  a  universal  philosophy.  Dr.  Hopkins 
has  not  been  willing  that  metaphysics  should  stand  for 
something  intelligible  only  to  the  learned  few,  while  inex- 
plicable to  the  common  mind.  On  the  contrary,  he  has 
held  that  the  facts  of  the  mind  and  the  laws  of  its  operation, 
it  being  nearest  of  all  things  to  man,  may  be  known  by  all 
with  as  much  certainty  as  the  facts  and  laws  of  the  outward 
and  remoter  world.     So  he  has  fearlessly  taken  his  students 


WILLI AMSTOWN    AND    WILLIAMS    COLLEGE.  51 

into  this  realm  of  study,  and  accustomed  them  to  be  at  home 
with  themselves,  and  while  seeing  the  harmony  of  all 
knowledge,  to  see  that  the  knowledge  of  themselves  is  the 
highest  of  all,  and  that 

"  The  proper  study  of  mankind  is  man." 

So  far,  indeed,  has  he  carried  his  views  of  the  simplicity 
and  intelligibility  of  these  higher  sciences,  that  he  has  been 
accustomed  to  teach  them  on  the  blackboard  as  one  would 
arithmetic.  And  his  success  with  this  method  in  the  class- 
room had  been  such,  and  his  confidence  in  the  system,  that 
he  ventured  a  few  years  ago  to  give  a  popular  course  of 
metaphysics  before  the  Lowell  Institute,  illustrated  by  dia- 
grams in  the  same  way.  The  experiment  was  successful, 
and  the  phonographic  report  of  those  unwritten  lectures 
now  constitutes  that  remarkable  volume,  An  Outline  Study 
of  Man ;  or,  The  Body  and  Mind  in  One  System,  which  has 
become  a  text-book  in  so  many  of  our  colleges.  It  is  a  small 
volume  in  comparison  with  many  which  treat  of  the  same 
subject,  but  it  may  be  said  to  condense  in  itself  a  complete 
system  of  philosophy.  Any  one  who  reads  it,  and  considers 
that  such  a  course  of  instruction,  only  greatly  expanded, 
and  a  similar  course  in  moral  science,  occupy  a  large  por- 
tion of  the  time  during  the  entire  Senior  year,  will  under- 
stand how  rich  that  year  is  to  the  students  at  Williams. 
Many  a  graduate  looks  back  to  it  as  the  most  memorable 
year  of  his  life.  That  Senior  recitation-room,  the  throne  of 
the  presidency  during  Dr.  Hopkins'  long  incumbency  of  the 
office,  and  where,  although  he  has  laid  down  the  seals  of 
authority,  he  still  presides  in  a  most  important  sense,  and 
so  long  as  he  continues  to  teach  will  j)reside  by  the  regal 
sway  of  thought  and  character  which  he  exercises,  makes 
one  think  of  the  old  Platonic  Academy,  or  Socrates  in  friendly 
converse  with  his  pupils,  rather  than  of  the  ordinary  class- 
room. The  glory  of  that  room  has  been  that  there  the 
freest  inquiry  has  been  encouraged,  and  the  students  taught 
to  see  and  think  for  themselves,  to  call  no  man  master,  but 


52  WILLIAMSTOWN    AND   WILLIAMS   COLLEGE. 

to  seek  and  welcome  the  truth  as  that  for  which  they  were 
made. 

It  is  noticeable  that  there  is  a  peculiarly  warm  and  deep 
feeling  on  the  part  of  the  alumni  of  Williams  towards  their 
College,  and  it  seems  to  us  to  be  explained  only  by  this 
sense  that  here  their  manhood  was  revealed  to  them  and 
developed. 

No  one  cherished  a  warmer  regard  for  his  alma  mater  than 
did  our  late  President  Garfield  for  this  the  College  of  his 
choice,  and  to  whose  anniversary  he  was  coming  in  filial 
spirit  when  he  received  his  fatal  wound,  nor  was  this  filial 
spirit  ever  more  warmly  reciprocated  than  by  the  feeling 
which  went  out  from  Williams  towards  her  most  distin- 
guished alumnus. 

But  Williams  is  not  shut  up  to  the  exceptional  boast  of 
the  late  President  of  the  Nation  among  her  alumni.  Her 
sons  are  found  in  full  share  in  the  places  of  honor  and 
power.  Of  the  select  company  composing  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  country  she  claims  Justice  Field.  Another  of 
her  sons,  Judge  Betts,  long  presided  over  the  District  Court 
of  New  York,  while  of  the  judges  and  chief  justices  of  the 
State  courts,  from  Vermont  to  California,  her  catalogue  fur- 
nishes a  long  and  worthy  roll.  In  the  halls  of  Congress,  and 
in  the  professions  of  law,  medicine,  and  theology,  she  has 
been  represented  by  many  of  national  reputation.  No  col- 
lege, perhaps,  has  been  oftener  or  more  ably  represented  in 
the  editorial  chair.  She  has  not  only  well  supplied  her  own 
offices  of  instruction,  but  has  furnished  professors  and  presi- 
dents to  other  colleges  in  this  and  other  lands.  Williams 
presides  to-day  in  the  University  of  Wisconsin,  and  no  name 
stands  higher  in  the  Department  of  Linguistics  than  that  of 
William  D.  Whitney,  now  holding  a  chair  at  Yale.  As 
writers  on  political  economy,  Professor  Perry  and  Hon. 
David  A.  Wells  have  a  reputation  that  reaches  beyond  their 
own  country,  while  in  poetry  and  general  literature  no  name 
is  more  honored  than  that  of  William  Cullen  Bryant. 

During  the  administration  of  President  Chadbourne,  so 


WILLIAMSTOWN    AND    WILLIAMS    COLLEGE. 


53 


GOODRICH    HALL. 


54  WILLIAMSTOWN    AND    WILLIAMS   COLLEGE. 

well  known  both  as  a  teacher  and  for  his  great  executive 
ability,  several  new  buildings  were  erected,  and  old  ones 
were  made  to  put  on  a  more  attractive  appearance,  and  the 
College  grounds  to  show  the  results  of  a  more  watchful  care. 
Graduates  of  a  few  years  ago  would  hardly  recognize  the 
new  chapel  with  its  added  transept,  its  frescoed  walls  and 
cushioned  seats,  and  beautiful  memorial  windows.  The 
student  societies  have  also  erected  several  elegant  and  taste- 
ful buildings,  which  have  contributed  much  to  the  outward 
appearance  of  the  College  and  the  village  of  which  it  forms 
a  part. 

Goodrich  Hall,  one  of  the  finest  of  the  College  buildings 
at  the  present  time,  was  a  gift  from  the  Hon.  John  Z.  Good- 
rich, of  Stockbridge,  who  has  been  one  of  the  most  liberal 
pecuniary  benefactors  of  the  College.  It  was  intended  to 
contain  rooms  for  the  professor  cf  chemistry  and  physics, 
and  a  recitation-room  for  the  mathematical  classes,  while 
the  upper  story,  with  its  high  Gothic  roof,  furnishes  a  most 
ample  and  well-provided  gymnasium. 

Clark  Hall,  in  point  of  construction,  is  the  finest  of  the 
College  buildings.  It  was  the  gift  of  the  late  Edward  Clark, 
Esq.,  of  New  York,  an  alumnus  and  Trustee  of  the  College. 
It  was  designed  chiefly  to  furnish  a  place  of  safe  deposit  for 
the  Wilder  mineralogical  cabinet,  which  had  been- secured 
to  the  College  by  the  liberality  of  Mr.  Clark,  while  provision 
was  also  made  in  it  for  the  preservation  of  the  College 
archives.  No  expense  was  spared  in  its  construction.  Built 
of  stone  and  iron,  so  as  to  be  fire-proof,  its  exterior  shows 
the  most  thorough  workmanship.  The  interior  is  finished 
with  simplicity,  but  with  elegance.  The  floor  is  of  Spanish 
tiles,  resting  upon  iron  supports  and  brick  arches.  The 
doors  are  of  solid  oak.  The  cases  containing  the  cabinet  of 
minerals  are  of  mahogany,  with  massive  plate-glass  doors. 

In  1882  was  completed  the  new  Astronomical  Observa- 
tory, designed  to  supplement  the  old  Observatory,  the  first 
college  building  of  this  character  erected  in  our  country, 
but  which  is  no  longer  sufficient  to  afford  the  necessary  in- 


WILLIAMSTOWN    AND    WILLIAMS    COLLEGE. 


CLARK    HALL. 


56  WILLIAMSTOWN   AND   WILLIAMS   COLLEGE. 

struction  in  astronomy,  and  enable  the  professor  in  this  de- 
partment of  science  to  make  adequate  observations.  The 
new  Observatory  is  situated  on  an  eminence  a  little  removed 
from  the  general  range  of  college  buildings  in  a  southwest 
direction.  It  is  an  iron  building,  and  was  designed  mainly 
for  the  accommodation  of  the  meridian  circle,  one  of  the 
finest  in  the  country,  made  by  Messrs.  Repsold  and  Sons,  of 
Hamburg.  For  this  instrument,  as  well  as  for  the  building 
which  contains  it,  the  College  is  indebted  to  the  Hon.  David 
Dudley  Field,  who  has  at  various  times  been  one  of  its  most 
liberal  benefactors. 

The  most  recent  addition  to  the  buildings  of  the  College, 
and  coeval  with  the  administration  of  President  Carter,  is 
that  of  Morgan  Hall,  the  gift  of  the  late  ex-Governor,  E.  D. 
Morgan,  of  New  York,  who,  as  a  native  of  Berkshire,  was 
naturally  interested  in  the  College,  but  who  did  not  live  to 
see  the  completion  of  the  fine  building  for  whose  erection 
he  had  made  provision. 


MORGAN    HALL. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Past  and  Present. 

The  contrast  between  the  Williamstown  of  to-day  and  its 
site  when  Colonel  Williams  made  his  will,  which  gave  name 
to  the  place  and  existence  to  the  Free  School  and  then  to 
the  College,  is  great  indeed.  Then  the  region  was  literally 
a  wilderness.  It  was  so  far  removed  from  any  considerable 
settlements  that,  as  we  have  seen,  it  was  hardly  recognized 
as  belonging  to  New  England.  When  Williams  started  on 
the  fatal  expedition  to  Crown  Point,  there  was  only  a  little 
hamlet  here  of  eleven  settlers,  who  were  able  to  hold  their 
ground  and  make  homes  for  themselves  under  the  protec- 
tion of  the  fort  near  by,  and  the  further  protection  of  a 
block-house  which  stood  near  where  is  now  the  house  of 
Mrs.  Hosford,  on  the  north  side  of  the  Park.  Here  was  the 
center  of  the  then  border  settlement.  Happily  for  us  to-day 
in  the  original  disposition  of  the  ground  of  the  new  town- 
ship, the  sixty-three  home  lots  were  laid  out  along  a 
road-way  of  the  remarkable  width  of  sixteen  rods,  and 
stretching  westward  from  Green  River  for  a  full  mile.  The 
first  house  built  here  stood  upon  the  ground  now  occupied 
by  Mr.  No}res,  a  little  west  of  the  Park.  It  was  subsequently 
removed  from  that  site,  and  a  portion  of  it  may  now  be 
found  in  what  is  known  as  Charity  ville,  constituting  a  part 
of  the  first  house  on  the  right  hand  after  crossing  the  bridge 
on  the  road  leading  up  the  Northwest  Hill. 

Fortunately  the  town  now  has  in  its  keeping  the  records 
of  the  settlement  before  it  bore  the  name  of  Williams.  There 
is  a  volume  in  the  custody  of  the  town  clerk,  the  title-page 
of  which  reads,  "  Proprietor's  Book  of  the  west  Township  at 
Hoosuck,"  with  the  addition, "  Said  Town  Ship  in  Corporated 
by  the  Name  of  Williams  Town  in  the  year  A.  D.  1765." 

Those  were  the  days  of  the  beginning  of  things,  when  the 
8  57 


58  WILLIAMSTOWN   AND   WILLIAMS   COLLEGE. 

school-master  had  not  got  abroad  much,  and  people  wrote 
and  spelled  every  one  according  to  his  liking. 

The  first  entry  in  this  early  record  book  runs  as  follows : 

"Province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay.  On  the  petition  of 
Isaac  Wyman  and  others  subscribers  in  behalf  of  themselves 
and  others  Proprietors  of  the  west  Township  at  Hoosuck. 

"  In  the  House  of  Representatives,  Sept.  10,  1753.  Read 
and  voted  that  William  Williams  Esq'r  one  of  his  majesty's 
Justices  of  the  peace  for  the  County  of  Hampshire  Issue  his 
warrant  for  Calling  a  meeting  of  proprietors  of  the  west 
Township  at  Hoosuck  so  called  Directed  to  one  of  the 
principal  proprietors  of  said  Township  Requiring  him  to 
set  up  a  notification  in  some  public  place  in  said  Township 
setting  Forth  the  time  place  and  occasion  of  said  meeting 
fourteen  Days  Beforehand  which  meeting  shall  be  holden 
in  said  Township  and  such  of  the  Proprietors  as  shall  be 
present  at  said  meeting  are  hereby  authorized  and  impow- 
ered  by  a  major  vote  to  Determine  upon  a  Division  of  all  or 
part  of  the  lands  in  said  Township  not  all  ready  allotted 
also  to  choose  a  Committee  or  Committees  to  lay  out  the 
same  allso  to  Raise  monies  to  Defray  the  charges  that  may 
arise  by  means  of  laying  out  said  land  also  for  Clearing 
Highways. 

as  also  to  Chuse  proprietors  Clerk  Treasurer  assessors  & 
Collectors  and  also  to  agree  and  determine  upon  a  method 
for  calling  meetings  of  said  proprietors  for  the  future. 

Sent  up  for  Concurrence. 

F.  Hubbard  Spkr. 

In  Counciel  September  10  1753. 

Red  and  Concurd. 

Thos.  Clerk  Depty  Secry. 

Consented  to  W.  Shirley  a  true  Copy 

p  Thos.  Clerk,  Depty  Secty." 

"  William  Williams  Esq.  of  Pontoosuck  issued  such  warrant 
Nov.  15  1753  warning  a  meeting  of  proprietors  to  be  held 
at  the  house  of  Seth  Hudson  *  on  the  5th  of  Dec.  at  9.  A.  M. 

*  The  first  house  built  in  Williamstown. 


WILLIAMSTOWN    AND   WILLIAMS   COLLEGE.  59 

At  said  meeting 

Allen  Curtise  chosen  Moderator. 

Isaac  Wyman     "      props.  Clerk. 

Voted  to  lay  out  all  the  medow  land  lying  upon  the  main 
River  and  the  medow  land  Lying  upon  green  river  as  far  as 
the  first  Brook  or  Creek  in  equal  purposhon  to  Each  Right 
in  said  Township  and  one  hundred  acres  of  upland  to  each 
Right  ajoining  to  the  medow  land  or  as  Near  as  they  Can  to 
Lay  out  the  best  land. 

Allen  Curtise  Seth  Hudson  Jonathan  Medium  Ezekiel 
Foster  Jabiz  Worrin  committee  to  lay  out  the  land. 

Voted  to  raise  a  rate  of  Eight  Shillings  upon  Each  pro- 
prietors Right  to  pay  Charges  of  laying  out. 

the  above  said  votes  paist  in  a  Legial  manor 

Test — Allen  Curtise  moderator  of  said  meetin. 
Isaac  Wyman  Prop's  Clerk." 

In  addition  to  the  home  lots  originally  laid  out  by  direc- 
tion of  the  Legislature,  the  entire  township  was  divided  into 
seven  sections,  a  portion  of  each  of  which  was  assigned  to 
each  proprietor  of  a  home  lot.  These  subdivisions  were 
known  as  Pine  Lots,  Oak  Lots,  Meadow  Lots,  &c. 

The  second  meeting  of  the  Proprietors  was  held  on  the 
18th  of  April,  1754.  The  exigencies  of  a  new  settlement  are 
indicated  by  the  objects  for  which  the  meeting  was  called. 
It  was  called  "  to  see  if  the  pro's  will  agree  upon  some  man 
or  men  to  build  a  grist  mill  and  a  saw  mill  and  what 
bounty  they  will  give  for  the  incuragement  of  the  building 
of  the  same." 

"  To  see  if  the  proprietors  will  agree  upon  some  place  for 
a  burying  place  and  clear  a  part  of  the  same. 

"  To  see  if  the  Propr's  will  have,  the  gospel  Preach  in  this 
town  this  summer  or  some  part  of  it  and  if  so  to  choose  a 
committee  to  bring  in  some  authordoxt  minister  to  preach 
the  gospel." 


60  WILLIAMSTOWN    AND   WILLIAMS   COLLEGE. 

The  Warning  for  this  meeting  concludes  as  follows : 

"  Which  meeting  is  to  be  on  Thirsday  the  Eighteenth  of 
this  Instant  at  Nine  of  the  Clock  in  the  four  noon  and  such 
of  the  Propr's  as  Shall  assemble  and  meet  at  s'd  time  and 
place  are  hearby  impowred  to  act  on  all  or  part  of  the  four 
going  articles. 

"  Dated  at  Fort  Massachusetts  April  5th  1754. 

Isaac  Wyman 
Propr's  Clerk." 

It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  the  Warning  of  this  meeting,  as 
well  as  that  of  the  third  meeting  of  the  proprietors,  held 
May  15th  of  the  same  year,  was  dated  at  Fort  Massachusetts. 
Isaac  Wyman,  the  Clerk  by  whom  the  meetings  were  called 
was  a  Lieutenant,  and  stationed  at  the  fort.  It  shows  the 
intimate  connection  between  the  fort  and  the  little  company 
of  settlers  in  what  was  then  known  as  West  Hoosuck.  The 
names  of  eight  soldiers  at  least,  also  appear  on  the  list  of 
the  original  proprietors  of  the  township.  It  was  a  military 
settlement  in  an  important  sense. 

No  meeting  of  the  proprietors  seems  to  have  been  held 
from  1754  until  October,  1760.  Then  it  was  voted  "  to  clear 
the  street  east  and  west  as  far  as  the  Town  Lots  extend,  and 
north  and  south  from  Stone  Hill  to  the  River." 

At  a  meeting  in  March,  1762,  on  the  article  "  to  see 
whether  they  would  raise  money  to  hire  preaching,"  the 
record  says :  "  article  of  raiseing  money  to  hire  preaching 
tryed  voted  in  ye  Nagetive."  A  year  afterwards,  however, 
it  was  voted  "  to  have  preaching  for  the  future."  It  was  also 
voted  "  to  raise  12  shillings  on  each  propr's  rite  to  defray 
the  expense  of  preaching."  Two  months  afterwards  they 
"  voted  Asa  Johnson's  account  of  nine  days  for  going  after 
a  minister  £3-12." 

In  1763  the  settlement  had  got  on  so  far  as  to  have  a 
school  house,  and  the  proprietors'  meetings  began  to  be  held 
there  instead  of  at  the  fort  or  private  houses  as  formerly. 


WILLIAMSTOWN    AND    WILLIAMS   COLLEGE.  61 

Iii  1764  it  was  voted  "  to  build  a  bridge  over  Green  river 
at  the  east  end  of  the  town  street." 

This  "  town  street,"  our  Main  street,  being  laid  out  orig- 
inally by  the  Legislature  and  not,  as  usual,  by  the  town} 
differs  from  ordinary  streets  in  that  it  does  not  belong  to 
the  adjoining  proprietors — the  public  having  merely  the 
right  of  travel  over  it — but  it  belongs  wholly  to  the  town, 
the  adjacent  proprietors  having  no  right  of  ownership  in  it. 

The  next  year  Mr.  Benjamin  Simonds  was  appointed  a 
committee  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  for  the  proprietors 
a  copy  of  Colonel  Williams'  will.  It  was  also  voted  to  give 
Mr.  Whitman  Welsh  a  call  to  the  work  of  the  ministry. 
£80  were  voted  him  as  a  "  settlement,"  one  half  the  first 
year  and  one  half  the  second.  He  was  also  promised  £70 
salary,  beginning  with  £40  the  two  first  years,  and  increas- 
ing £3  a  year  till  £70  was  reached. 

In  the  small  Book  of  Surveys,  which  was  kept  by  the  pro- 
prietors, the  names  of  men  with  military  titles  are  conspicu- 
ously frequent,  showing  the  intimate  connection  of  the  new 
settlement  with  Fort  Massachusetts.  Apart  from  the  private 
soldiers  we  find  the  names  not  only  of  Col.  Williams  him- 
self, who,  as  we  have  seen,  became  one  of  the  original  pro- 
prietors, but  of  Col.  Oliver  Partridge,  Cap.  Elisha  Chapin, 
and  Lieutenants  Isaac  Wyman,  Moses  Graves, Samuel  Brown, 
Elisha  Hawley,  and  Obadiah  Dickinson.  Williamstown  in 
the  olden  time  was  little  other  than  a  military  station,  with 
some  outlying  fields  coming  little  by  little  under  tillage. 
It  was  possible  for  the  early  settlers  to  maintain  themselves 
so  far  from  the  protection  of  Fort  Massachusetts  as  our 
village,  four  miles  perhaps,  only  as  they  built  a  military 
defense  here.  This  was  a  block-house,  situated  a  little  north 
of  our  present  Park,  nearly  where  Mrs.  Hosford's  house  now 
stands,  or  between  it  and  the  Kappa  Alpha  Lodge.  It  had 
a  picketed  enclosure  connected  with  it  into  which,  in  an 
emergency,  the  settlers  could  flee  for  safety.  This  they  had 
occasion  repeatedly  to  do.  The  block -house  was  assaulted 
more  than  once  by  the  Indians,  and  several  of  the  settlers 
lost  their  lives  by  stealthy  attack. 


62  WILLIAMSTOWN    AND   WILLIAMS   COLLEGE. 

The  change  is  great  indeed  from  the  wilderness  and  the 
strife  of  little  more  than  a  century  ago  to  the  cultured 
beauty  and  the  serene  peacefulness  of  the  present. 

By  one  of  the  most  notable  engineering  feats  of  the  cen- 
tury, the  Hoosac  Mountain  near  by  has  been  pierced  by  a 
tunnel,  and  now  more  than  thirty  railway  trains  pass  daily 
within  sight  of  the  students  as  they  look  from  their  win- 
dows, and  within  a  stone's-throw  of  the  old  fort  out  of  which 
the  College  has  grown.     The  hidden  village  of  the  Free 
School  is  no  longer  shut  in  among  the  hills.     The  gateways 
of  approach  have  been  opened,  and  it  is  accessible  to  the 
world.     Every  morning  the  palace  car  rolls  by,  which  the 
evening  but  one  before  left  St.  Louis,  a  city  of  half  a  million 
souls,  the  very  site  of  which  was  unknown  when  Williams 
made  his  bequest  and  endowed  the  College.     Beautiful  in 
its  natural  site,  Art  and  Culture  have  been  perfecting  the 
appearance  of  the  village.     Noble  lines  of  trees  shade  and 
beautify  its  broad  avenue,  as  it  sweeps  over  one  elevation 
after  another  for  the  distance  of  more  than  a  mile.     Within 
a  few  years  the  width  of  this  avenue  has  been  increased  by 
the  removal  of  the  fences  which  formerly  bordered  it,  so  that 
it  seems  to  form  one  continuous  park.     The  passing  traveller 
expresses  surprise  at  the  discovery  of  such  unexpected  and 
unsurpassed  beauty,  and  prolongs  his  stay,  and  year  by  year 
the  denizens  of  pent-up  cities  come  in  increasing  numbers 
to  enjoy  rest  of  body  and  mind  in  this  new-found  Arcadia. 
It  wrould  be  difficult  to  name  an  institution  of  learning 
more  favorably  situated  in  point  of  natural  scenery  than  the 
College  which  bears  the  name  of  the  hero  of  Fort  Massa- 
chusetts.    If,  instead  of  leaving  his  property  to  endow  a 
Free  School  at  a  spot  so  far  beyond  the  recognized  bounds 
of  civilization  that  Norton,  in  his  "Redeemed  Captive"  says  that 
the  French  and  Indians,  in  their  attack  upon  the  fort,  sent 
some  to  creep  up  as  near  as  they  could  "to  observe  whether 
any  persons  attempted  to  make  their  escape,  to  carry  tid- 
ings to  New  England,"  he  had  looked  forward  a  hundred 
years  and  more,  and  chosen,  out  of  our  now  wide  and  popu- 
lous territory,  a  site  for  a  college,  he  could  not  have  chosen 


WILLIAMSTOWN    AND    WILLIAMS    COLLEGE. 


63 


FLORAS    GLEN. 


64  WILLIAMSTOWN   AND  WILLIAMS   COLLEGE. 

more  wisely  than  he  did.  In  a  fertile  and  beautiful  valley, 
threaded  by  silvery  streams,  surrounded  by  the  lofty  ranges 
of  the  Taghconic  and  Green  Mountains,  Graylock  lifting  its 
hoary  summit  above  every  peak  in  the  commonwealth,  there 
is  everything  in  the  situation  to  attract  the  eye  and  cultivate 
the  best  feelings.  Every  season,  every  day  and  hour,  has 
here  its  own  peculiar  charm.  There  is  a  perpetual  change 
and  variety  of  scene.  Nature  never  repeats  herself,  but  is 
constantly  turning  her  kaleidoscopic  glass  and  presenting 
fresh  surprises. 

On  the  College  grounds,  and  within  a  stone's-throw  of  the 
students'  windows,  is  Christmas  Lake,  with  its  fringe  of  ever- 
greens; while  less  than  a  mile  away  is  Flora's  Glen — a  wild 
and  beautiful  spot,  where  tradition  says  Biyant  first  brooded 
over  his  "  Thanatopsis."  Going  up  the  glen,  if  one  cares  to 
ascend  higher,  the  summits  of  Mount  Hopkins  and  Peters- 
burg invite  him  to  points  where  the  eye  ranges  from  the 
Catskills  to  the  Adirondacks,  the  Hudson  gleaming  at  inter- 
vals in  the  distance.  Opposite  is  the  Hopper,  with  its 
deep  gorges,  its  massive  sweeps  of  foliage,  its  wondrous  play 
of  light  and  shade,  and  its  wild  wood-road  to  the  flank  of 
Graylock  and  the  camping  ground  where,  summer  after 
summer,  in  its  pure  ether,  and  amid  its  babbling  brooks, 
many  find  a  delightful  change  of  scene  and  great  refresh- 
ment both  of  body  and  mind. 

No  more  beautiful  or  healthful  surroundings  for  the  stu- 
dent could  be  found.  Shut  away  from  the  noise  and  temp- 
tations of  city  and  town  life,  in  the  calm  seclusion  of  this, 
Nature's  own  retreat,  no  circumstances  could  be  more  favor- 
able for  the  successful  prosecution  of  the  scholar's  work. 
And  so,  perhaps,  the  hero  of  Fort  Massachusetts  "  builded 
better  than  he  knew  "  when,  in  the  Free  School  of  West 
Hoosac,  he  established  another  and  a  better  Fortress,  one  not 
of  arms  and  military  enginery,  but  of  moral  and  intellect- 
ual equipment,  to  guard  society  from  the  assaults  of  ignor- 
ance, superstition,  and  a  vain  materialism,  and  to  preserve 
to  the  nation  and  the  world  the  best  possessions  of  intelli- 
gence and  virtue. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

Neighboring  Attractions. 

Interesting  as  Williamstown  is,  both  for  its  history  and 
on  account  of  its  natural  attractions,  the  visitor  finds  him- 
self in  the  center  of  a  wide  region  of  beauty  and  attractive- 
ness. The  whole  county  of  Berkshire  is  famous  for  its 
scenery,  and  it  is  all  within  easy  reach  of  Williamstown. 
Close  at  home  the  drive  of  the  Oblong,  as  it  is  called,  takes 
one  along  the  valley  of  the  Green  River  and  through  the 
lovety  scenery  of  South  Williamstown,  a  distance  of  four  or 
five  miles,  where,  in  an  appropriately  pleasant,  quiet  situa- 
tion, is  Mr.  Mills'  Family  School  for  Boys,  which  often  num- 
bers more  than  a  hundred  pupils,  a  miniature  college  by 
itself,  and  which  has  been  widely  known  for  more  than 
thirty  years  as  one  of  the  best  schools  of  the  country.  It  is 
but  a  ride  of  two  hours  on  the  railway,  or  the  pleasant  drive 
of  a  day  by  carriage-road,  to  Sheffield,  on  the  southern  limit 
of  the  county,  where  Mt.  Everett  lifts  its  majestic  bulk  in 
rivalry  with  Graylock  itself.  Stockbridge,  the  home  of  the 
Sedgwicks,  the  Fields,  and  other  distinguished  persons,  un- 
surpassed for  its  quiet,  natural  beauty  and  the  cultured  taste 
of  its  people,  which  seems  to  go  hand  in  hand  with  nature ; 
famous  as  an  Indian  Mission  in  early  days,  where  Jonathan 
Edwards  preached  to  the  red  men,  while  at  the  same  time 
he  was  writing  for  the  whites  his  celebrated  treatise  on  the 
Freedom  of  the  Will ;  and  Lenox,  the  fashionable  summer 
resort  and  home  of  so  many,  where  Hawthorne  wrote  and 
Holmes  sung  in  other  days — these  shrines  of  beauty  and 
abodes  of  genius  are  on  the  same  route  of  travel,  but  less 
distant. 

On  the  north  again,  Bennington,  the  site  of  one  of  the 
most  important  battles  of  the  Revolution,  and  now  marked 
by  its  appropriate  monument,  is  less  than  twenty  miles  away, 
9  65 


66  WILLIAMSTOWN    AND    WILLIAMS   COLLEGE. 

and  from  its  heights  the  eye  sweeps  over  a  wide  range  of 
mountain  and  valley  and  winding  stream  from  Lake  Cham- 
plain  to  the  Catskills.  Leading  east  and  west  from  Wil- 
liamstown,  the  valleys  of  the  Deerfield  and  Hoosac  rivers 
offer  to  the  traveler  scenery  seldom  surpassed  for  beauty, 
while  the  great  line  of  railway,  which  has  excavated  its 
famous  tunnel  under  the  Hoosac  Mountain,  offers  quick 
and  easy  transit  several  times  a  day  to  the  Hudson  on  the 
one  hand,  and  to  the  Connecticut  and  Boston  Bay  on  the 
other. 

It  is  but  two  hours'  ride  to  Saratoga,  with  its  unceasing 
and  unequalled  attractions  of  fountain  and  fashion,  of  health 
and  pleasure.  Lebanon  Springs,  with  its  quaint  Quaker 
life  and  peculiar  religious  ceremonial,  and  Hancock,  offer  a 
motive  for  a  favorite  drive  of  a  few  hours,  every  mile  of 
which  is  stored  with  pleasant  views  as  one  passes  along  the 
shaded  mountain  road,  or  by  the  silvery  streams  that  wind 
through  the  valleys  and  murmur  as  they  lapse  from  stone 
to  stone. 

Nearer  home,  and  almost,  indeed,  quite  within  reach  of 
the  pedestrian,  are  the  Cascade,  the  Natural  Bridge,*  the 
Snow  Hole  upon  the  summit  of  Petersburg  Mountain,  Mount 
Hopkins,  from  which  the  sheen  of  the  distant  Hudson  flashes 
back  upon  the  sight  and  the  purple  light  of  the  Catskills  is 

*  Hawthorne  once  spent  several  days  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Natural  Bridge,  and 
thus  speaks  of  it  in  his  American  Note- Books  :  "  It  is  not  properly  a  cave,  but  a 
fissure  in  a  huge  ledge  of  marble,  through  which  a  stream  has  been  for  ages  for- 
cing its  way,  and  has  left  marks  of  its  gradually  wearing  power  on  the  tall  crags, 
having  made  curious  hollows  from  the  summit  down  to  the  level  which  it  has 
reached  at  the  present  day.  *  *  *  After  passing  through  this  romantic  and 
most  picturesque  spot,  the  stream  goes  onward  to  turn  factories.  Here  its  voice 
resounds  within  the  hollow  crags;  there  it  goes  onward,  talking  to  itself,  with 
babbling  din,  of  its  own  wild  thoughts  and  fantasies — the  voice  of  solitude  and 
the  wilderness — loud  and  continued,  but  which  yet  does  not  seem  to  disturb  the 
thoughtful  wanderer,  so  that  he  forgets  there  is  a  noise.  It  talks  along  its  storm- 
worn  path  ;  it  talks  beneath  tall  precipices  and  high  banks — a  voice  that  has  been 
the  same  for  innumerable  ages ;  and  yet,  if  you  listen,  you  will  perceive  a  con- 
tinual change  and  variety  in  its  babble,  and  sometimes  it  seems  to  swell  louder 
upon  the  ear  than  at  others — in  the  same  spot,  I  mean." 


WILLIAMSTOWX    AND    WILLIAMS   COLLEGE. 


G7 


68  WILLIAMSTOWN   AND   WILLIAMS   COLLEGE. 

seen ;  the  quiet  of  Flora's  and  of  Ford's  Glens ;  the  rugged  climb 
up  Graylock  with  its  massive  forests  and  the  far-stretching 
outlook  from  its  lofty  summit ;  the  broad  expanse  of  Bald 
Mountain,  that  sweet  meadow  two  thousand  feet  in  air  bor- 
dered by  its  fragrant  pines — these  and  the  many  other  walks 
and  drives  which  the  mountains  and  valleys  afford  in  every 
direction.  All  tastes  may  be  gratified.  The  variety  of 
scene  offers  fresh  attractions  for  every  day,  one  might  say 
for  every  hour,  and  each  season  has  its  peculiar  charms. 

The  residents  of  Williamstown,  and  of  the  entire  Berk- 
shire region,  feel  that  "the  lines  have  fallen  to  them  in 
pleasant  places,  and  that  they  have  a  goodly  heritage." 
More  and  more,  travelers  through  this  picturesque  country 
are  disposed  to  linger  amid  its  delightful  scenery.  The 
"  summer  visitors,"  as  they  are  called,  are  wont  to  protract 
their  stay  beyond  the  summer,  even  till  October  fills  the 
valleys  with  her  golden  light,  and  overspreads  the  hills 
with  her  many-hued  mantle,  and  the  ripened  year  sits 
regnant  on  her  throne  of  beauty.  The  denizens  of  the 
crowded  cities,  in  increasing  numbers,  are  building  cottages 
and  mansions  on  the  Berkshire  hillsides,  content  to  come 
year  after  year,  with  their  families,  to  the  same  spot  and 
make  it  their  fixed  abode  during  the  warm  season,  and 
whenever  the  cares  of  the  city's  busy  life  will  allow. 


WILLIAMSTOWN    ANT)    WILLIAMS   COLLEGE. 


G9 


CHAPTER  X. 

Present  Character  and  Condition  of  the  College. 

In  the  year  1881,  President  Chadbourne,  after  nine  years 
of  service,  resigned  the  presidency  of  the  College,  and  Frank- 
lin Carter  was  elected  to  fill  the  vacant  place.  President 
Carter  had  been  a  professor  in  the  College  ten  years  before, 
but  at  the  time  of  his  election  to  the  presidency  held  a  pro- 
fessor's chair  at  Yale.  Originally  a  student  at  Yale,  which 
from  considerations  of  health  he  felt  obliged  to  exchange 
for  Williams,  where  he  graduated,  and  having  been  a  pro- 
fessor in  both  institutions,  he  brought  to  his  new  office  the 
best  sentiments  and  traditions  of  both,  and  recalled  to  mind 
the  early  days  of  the  College  when  the  venerable  institution 
of  New  Haven  was  so  largely  represented  in  the  Board  of 
Trustees  of  Williams. 

With  the  accession  of  President  Carter  some  changes  were 
made  in  the  corps  of  instruction,  and  in  the  arrangement  of 
studies.  No  essential  change,  however,  has  been  made  in 
the  character  or  methods  of  the  College.  It  remains  essen- 
tially the  same  that  it  has  been,  its  trustees  and  faculty  of 
instruction  being  satisfied  with  the  course  which  has  been 
pursued  hitherto,  and  anxious  only  to  maintain  that  course 
with  whatever  additional  efficacy  and  success  additional 
experience  and  new  opportunities  may  give.  One  who  has 
every  reason  to  know  of  what  he  speaks  sa}^s,  "  The  aim 
of  Williams  College  is  to  secure  to  each  graduate  a  training 
of  all  the  mental  faculties,  and  thus  to  furnish  a  general 
education  as  a  preparation  for  a  useful  life. .  The  College 
cannot  claim  such  facilities  as  are  necessary  for  the  develop- 
ment of  first-class  specialists,  but  it  may  claim  that  its 
course  of  stud}-  as  conducted  by  an  excellent  corps  of 
teachers  is  well  suited  to  give  a  solid  basis  for  professional 
life.     It  is  claimed  peculiarly  that  the  instruction  in  phi- 

70 


WILLIAMSTOWN    AXI>    WILLIAMS   COLLEGE.  71 

losophy  by  the  distinguished  Ex-President  Rev.  Dr.  Mark 
Hopkins  has  proved  to  be  of  the  greatest  service  to  such  of 
the  graduates  as  have  entered  the  ministry, and  has,  indeed, 
turned  many  into  that  particular  field  of  professional  life. 
In  several  of  the  other  departments  the  teaching  has  re- 
cently become  more  thorough,  and  both  real  acquisition  and 
patient  thinking  are  now  necessary  to  secure  its  degree.  In 
the  senior  year  a  variety  of  electives  allows  the  students  to 
establish  a  more  direct  connection  with  his  subsequent 
studies  than  was  formerly  the  case,  but  the  College  remains 
substantially  a  College,  with  an  enforced  curriculum,  and  is 
not  as  jet  even  an  embryo  university.  It  is,  however,  true 
that  both  natural  science  and  the  modern  languages  receive 
more  attention  and  a  larger  share  of  time  than  in  most  of 
the  older  New  England  colleges.  A  special  feature  in  the 
college  management  has,  for  many  years,  been  the  assist- 
ance given  to  poor,  worthy  young  men.  But  no  student  is 
assisted  whose  scholarship  is  not  respectable.  The  location 
of  the  College  secures  comparative  freedom  from  temptation, 
and  the  development  of  a  pure  character  in  each  student 
has  always  been  regarded  by  the  officers  as  of  the  utmost 
importance.  It  is  intended  that  the  diploma  shall  signify 
that  its  recipient  has  a  good  moral  character. 

"  Williams  College  is  a  religious  institution,  a  Christian  col- 
lege. Though  the  College  was  at  first  mainly  under  Con- 
gregationalist  influence,  its  Board  of  Trustees  is  non-sec- 
tarian, and  contains  at  present  more  Presbyterians  and 
Episcopalians  taken  together  than  Congregationalists.  Sim- 
ilar proportions  of  religious  belief  exist  probably  among  the 
students.  But  all  its  officers  are  Christian  theists,  and  the 
College  is  held  steadily  to  Christian  observances  and  a 
Christian  faith." 

Through  the  considerate  liberality  of  its  graduates  and 
other  friends,  the  College  is  very  well  endowed  with  scholar- 
ships and  scholarship  and  prize  funds,  which  are  offered  as 
incentives  to  excellence  in  the  various  departments  of  study. 
The  competition  for  these  exerts  a  pleasant  and  healthful 


72  WILLIAMSTOWN    AND    WILLIAMS    COLLEGE. 

influence  upon  the  general  ongoing  of  the  College,  and  the 
public  oratorical  contests  for  some  of  the  prizes  form  a 
marked  feature  of  the  College  life,  and  are  occasions  of  much 
interest  to  many  outside  of  the  student  circle. 

The  College  Catalogue  for  the  current  year  bears  on  its 
roll  the  names  of  two  hundred  and  seventy-five  students, 
the  freshman  class  numbering  seventy-five. 

The  teaching  Faculty  of  the  College  is  composed  as  fol- 
lows : 

Franklin  Carter,  Ph.  D.,  LL.  D., 
President,  and  Professor  of  Natural  Theology. 

Rev.  Mark  Hopkins,  D.  D.,  LL.  D., 

Ex-President,  Professor  of  Christian  Theology  and  of  Moral 
and  Intellectual  Philosophy. 

Rev.  Arthur  Latham  Perry,  D.  D.,  LL.  D., 
Professor  of  History  and  Political  Economy. 

Truman  Henry  Safford,  Ph.  D., 
Professor  of  Astronomy,  and  Librarian. 

Cyrus  Morris  Dodd,  M.  A., 
Professor  of  Mathematics. 

John  Hasker  Hewitt,  M.  A., 
Professor  of  the  Ancient  Languages. 

Rev.  Edward  Herkick  Griffin,  D.  D., 
Professor  of  Rhetoric, 

Rev.  John  Henry  Denison,  B.  A., 
Pastor  of  the  College  Church. 

Orlando  Marcellus  Fernald,  M.  A., 
Professor  of  the  Greek  Language  and  Literature,  and  Sec- 
retary of  the  Faculty. 


WILLIAMSTOWN    AND    WILLIAMS    COLLEGE.  73 

Frederick-   Lkakk,  M.  A., 
Instructor  in  French. 

Granville  Stanley  Hall,  Ph.  D., 
Lecturer  on  the  History  of  Philosophy. 

Richard  Austin  Rice,  M.  A., 
Professor  of  Modern  Languages  and  Literatures. 

Luther  Dana  Woodbridge,  M.  D., 
Lecturer  on  Hygiene. 

Leverett  Mears,  Ph.  D., 
Professor  of  Physics  and  Chemistry. 

Samuel  Fessenden  Clarke,  Ph.  D., 
Professor  of  Natural  History. 

Herbert  Weir  Smyth,  B.  A., 
Instructor  in  Latin  and  Sanskrit. 

Edmund  Beecher  Wilson,  Ph.  D., 
Lecturer  on  Biology. 

Bliss  Perry,  B.  A., 
Instructor  in  Elocution  and  English. 

Frederick  Jennings  Parsons,  B.  A., 
Instructor  in  French  and  Geometry. 

The  following  Order  of  Studies,  as  taken  from  the  College 
Catalogue,  will  show  the  scope  and  character  of  the  instruc- 
tion given : 


ORDER  OF  STUDIES 


FRESHMAN  YEAR. 


FIRST  TERM. 


LATIN.— Livy,  Books  XXI  and  XXII;  Smith's  Rome  and  Carthage  ;  Lectures 
on  the  Military  and  Political  Antiquities  of  Rome ;  Exercises  in  Latin 
Composition. 

Greek.— Herodotus,  {Marathon,  Thermopylae,  Plataa,  Salamis,  and  Mycale  in 
Fernald's  Selections.) 

Mathematics. — Loomis's  Algebra. 

Physical  Training. — Lectures  on  health  and  habits  of  study. 

Oratory. — Lectures  and  individual  training  in  Elocution  ;  Declamations. 

SECOND   TERM. 

Mathematics. — Loomis's  Geometry. 

LATIN. Horace,  Odes,  and  Selections  from  Catullus ;  Lectures  on  the  Private 

Life  and  the  Religion  of  the  Romans,  and  on  the  Poets  of  the  Republic 
and  the  Augustan  Age ;  Exercises  in  Latin  Composition. 

Greek.— Homer's  Odyssey,  Books  IX,  X,  XI,  (Merry's  Edition,)  with  Lec- 
tures ;  Goodwin's  Moods  and  Tenses. 

Oratory. — Declamations. 

third  term. 

Mathematics. — Loomis's  Trigonometry  and  Mensuration,  Navigation  and  Sur- 
veying. 

Greek. — Demosthenes  ( The  Philippics) ;  Lectures ;  Greek  Composition. 

LATIN. Tacitus,  Germania  and  Agricola  ;  Terence,  Heautonlimorumenos  ;  Ex- 
ercises in  Writing  Latin. 

Rhetoric  and  Oratory. — Bascom  and  Morgan's  "Philosophy  of  Rhetoric  ;  '' 
Declamations. 

SOPHOMORE  YEAR. 

FIRST   TERM. 

Latin. — Juvenal ;  Horace,  Satires  and  Epistles. 

Rhetoric  and  Oratory. — Earle's  English  Philology  ;  Prologue  to  the  Canter- 
bury Tales;  Compositions;  Orations  and  individual  training  in  Elocution. 

Natural  History. — Elementary  Biology,  Lectures ;  Packard's  and  Tenney's 
Manuals. 

Greek. — Plato,  Apology  and  Crito  ;  Euripides,  Alccstis  ;  Lectures. 

74 


WILLIAMSTOWN   AND   WILLIAMS   COLLEGE.  75 

SECOND  TERM. 

Latin. — Selections  from   Cicero  de   Officiis   and   the    Tuseulan   Disputations  ; 

Crutlwell's  Manual. 
Or,  German. 

History. — Green's  Short  History  of  the  English  People;  Lectures. 
MATHEMATICS. — Loomis's  Spherical  Geometry  and  Spherical  Trigonometry. 
Oratory. — Orations. 

THIRL)   TERM. 

HISTORY. — Eliot's  United  States;  Lectures. 

Natural  History. — Botany;    Structure  and  Growth  of  Plants;  Exercises  in 

Analysis. 
Chemistry. — Lectures  and  Recitations. 
Mathematics. — Loomis's  Analytical  Geometry. 
Greek. — Aristophanes,  the  Birds. 

JUNIOR  YEAR. 

first  term. 

History.  —  Historical  Evidences  of  Christianity. 

Political  Economy. — Perry's  Political  Economy. 

Physics. — Text-book  and  Lectures. 

Modern    Languages.  —  German:     Whitney's    Grammar;      Prose     Reading. 

French  :  Chardenal's  Elementary  Grammar. 
Rhetoric. — Composition  and  Debates. 

second  term. 

Politics. — The  Constitution  of  the  United  States;  the  text  and  Lectures. 

Physics. — Text-book  and  Lectures. 

Modern  Languages.  —  German:  Grammar;  Prose  Reading;  Composition. 
French  :  Armitage's  Grammar ;  Extracts  from  Prose  Authors ;  Composi- 
tion. 

Rhetoric. — Orations  and  Debates. 

third  term. 

Astronomy. — Text-book  (Loomis's)  with  Lectures  and  Practical  Exercises. 

Physics. — Text-book  and  Lectures. 

Modern  Languages. — German  :  Schiller,  Egmonfs  Leben.     French  :  Extracts 

from  Prose  writers  ;  French  Comedies. 
Rhetoric. — Compositions. 

SENIOR  YEAR. 

FIRST  TERM. 

Anatomy. — Lectures. 


76  WILLIAMSTOWN    AND   WILLIAMS   COLLEGE. 

Physiology. — Huxley's  Lessons  ;  Illustrated  Lectures. 

Philosophy. — Hopkins'   Outline  Study  of  Man ;  Lectures  on   the   History  of 

Philosophy. 
RHETORIC  and  Oratory. — Arnold's  Manual  of   English   Literature  ;    Essays 

and  Orations ;  Individual  training  in   Elocution  (continued  through  the 

year). 
Logic. — Jevons's  Lessons  in  Logic. 
Astronomy. — Lectures. 
Theology. — Vincent,  On  the  Catechism. 
Elective  Studies. 

second  term. 

Philosophy.  —  Hopkins's  Outline  Study  of  Man  ;   Hopkins's  Moral  Science. 
Rhetoric. — Manual  of  English  Literature ;  Readings  and  Essays. 
Theology. — Vincent  continued. 
Elective  Studies. 

third  term. 

Geology. — Dana's  Text-book  and  Lectures. 
Aesthetics. — Bascom's  Lectures. 
Natural  Theology. — Elint's  Theism. 
Philosophy  of  Religion. — Butler's  Analogy. 
Elective  Studies. 


